Bully
by brokenrib
Summary: She's been told about sins now, but it feels fine... - Teenage Lust                     CAUTION -  could be triggering
1. Chapter 1

**So it's my second fanfic... If you've read my first one, be warned, the two are nothing alike! That was more of a light comedy. This one is Rated M throughout. I just really needed to push this one out of my head... After I saw Emma's therapy session and people speculating if she had been abused, I figured I'd go off that notion... But there are two ideas in my head. I just started this one first. **

"Carl, just calm down -"

"Where the _hell_ were you?" Carl pushed Emma roughly against the living room wall. Emma winced before looking up at him, or his mouth, rather; she was too afraid to look him in the eyes. She was confused; she had gotten home about five minutes ago, at 5:37. She was usually home by 4:00, but of course, there was a meeting with a parent that had run a little over schedule. Carl thought this was a bogus excuse. "Emma, I'm only gonna ask one more time. Where the _fuck_ were you?" Emma's heartbeat quickened as she bit her lip. "I-I told you, I had a meeting-" He slapped her hard across the face. Emma whimpered as Carl grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the wall. The bruise on her back that she had acquired from earlier this weekend sent a blunt pain through her spine. "I don't think you're telling the truth, baby." Emma closed her eyes, trying hard to keep her heart rate normal. Ever since Carl started getting rough with her, she had been getting these breathing spells; she would hyperventilate and usually end up passing out wherever she was. They didn't always come when Carl was around. Sometimes they would be when she was sleeping, or reading a book. Once it happened at work. Sue had found her standing in the corner of her office, propped up against the wall and breathing quickly. When Mr. Figgins had inquired about the incident, she simply told him she had asthma. She hated it, those spells, and she could tell it was taking a toll on her health.

Carl grabbed her throat and squeezed. "Look at me." Emma gasped and opened her eyes, her pulse increasing as soon as she did. "You were with Will, right?" Emma apprehensively shook her head no. Carl looked her up and down, as though looking for evidence to convince him otherwise. "Prove it."

"Wha- No-"

Carl grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head with one hand. She tried to get free, but it didn't do much. With his other hand, Carl pushed up her skirt and reached between her thighs. Emma gasped as he stuck two fingers inside of her. "Carl!" she shrieked. Carl went further into her. She muffled a moan and bit her lip. She knew what he wanted. It was the same every time. The satisfied look he gave, her desperate cry for mercy, the way he got off to it... It infuriated her. She tried so hard not to let it happen, but... A couple of tears slipped down Emma's face. She looked away, hoping he wouldn't see, but it was too late. Carl removed his hand. "We have a function in a half hour. Get ready." He kissed her cheek and began walking away. After a few strides, he turned around again and looked her up and down. "Wear that black dress I like."

"Come on, come on..." Emma pressed more concealer onto her neck, where Carl's hands had left a bruise. She slammed the makeup down on the vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. She blinked back tears. What she saw disgusted her. Her skin was pale and lifeless, unlike the sun-kissed glow she had worn before. Her eyes were dark, and her face looked gaunt. A few tears slipped down her face. What did she do to deserve this? It had begun about two weeks ago. She thought about the first day, and what happened...

Emma hummed along to a country song playing softly in the kitchen as she stirred the pasta. She was making Carl's favourite; Italian roasted chicken with pesto pasta. She wouldn't eat it, of course, she was a vegetarian, but she would be satisfied with the pasta alone. Emma looked at the clock on the wall; 6:46. _Carl should be home any minute,_ she thought to herself. She went to the wine rack and scanned it quickly before pulling out a bottle of Chardonnay. She popped it open and put it on the dining room table, then went back to the pasta and served it on two plates. Carl would love it, she just knew it. He had been stressed lately; his father had been diagnosed with leukemia, and had no one to take care of him. Carl had hired a nurse, but it was getting expensive. Emma had tried to talk to him about things, but he always ended the conversation. So, she thought of a dinner, just to let him know that she cared.

Emma heard the door open. "Emma?" a voice called out. She grabbed two wine glasses and filled them. "Hey, honey," she called out cheerily. Carl entered the kitchen. Emma grabbed the wine glasses and walked over to him. She kissed him lightly, then handed him a glass. "What's all this?" he asked quietly. "I made your favourite!" Carl didn't reply, but simply looked around. Emma looked up at him, waiting for a thank you, or _anything_, rather, but nothing came. "Um... I-I thought you'd like it. If you're not hungry, it's okay, I can -"

"No, it's fine. Thank you. I'm gonna change really quick, I'll be back." Emma watched as he put his cell phone and keys down on the table and walked away. His reaction shocked her and, more importantly, hurt. An hour and a half was spent scavenging for exotic spices rare in Ohio, and another two actually cooking, but for what? A cheeky attitude and a kiss. She turned back to the plates and put hers down, then his next to his wine and phone. Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate. She looked at the caller ID; it was someone named Sophie calling. She looked around for Carl, then grabbed the phone. She began to answer it, then decided against it. Though she wanted to, she knew that if she did, she wouldn't know what to say. Emma watched it vibrate in her hand. Finally, it stopped ringing. The voicemail sign popped up. She pressed it, then held the phone to her ear and walked back into the kitchen. "You have ONE NEW VOICEMAIL," the automated woman said. "Hey, Carl, it's Sophie, from the bar. I was thinking, maybe you can come over to my place later this week? I don't know, whenever you're free. 'Kay, call me. Bye." Emma exhaled and licked her lips, then hung up the phone and returned it to its original position. She sat down as Carl entered. Emma wanted to run to him, slap him, scream, and cry, but she couldn't. Why would she? It wouldn't do anything except make her look stupid and immature. Besides, she didn't have anything to accuse him of. Not really. So, instead, she took a sip of her wine calmly as he sat across from her.

"How was your day?" she asked politely as the two ate. "Fine. Nothing exciting." Emma nodded. _My day was great, thanks for asking_, she thought to herself. Carl took a swig of his wine, finishing most of it. Emma watched as he refilled his glass. "Who's Sophie?" she asked quietly. Carl looked up at her. "What?" Emma looked down, not sure how to go about this. She took a small bite of her food. For some reason, she wasn't so hungry anymore. "Sophie called. She wants you to go over to her place sometime this week." Carl snatched the napkin from the table and wiped his mouth. "Why were you in my phone?" Emma scoffed at his intent to divert the issue. "You're my _husband_, Carl. I think -"

Carl slammed a hand down on the table, frightening Emma. She looked up at him, taken aback. "Don't ever go through my stuff, Emma." Emma rolled her eyes and got up from the table. "Where are you going? Emma?" Emma headed towards her room. She couldn't believe the _audacity_ he had to talk to her like that. Carl got up and followed her. "Don't you walk away from me!" He grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Let go of me!" she shouted as she tried to pull away. Carl tightened his grip on her arm. "Ow, Carl..." she whimpered. Emma looked down at her arm. The area he had a grip on her began turning red. He let go of her arm. "Don't you _ever_ walk away from me!" His hand connected with her cheek. Emma yelped and clasped a hand to her face. With a dark look in his eye, Carl grabbed her chin domineeringly. "I don't wanna hurt you, Emma," he said softly. Emma looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. "But... You can't do whatever you want." A few tears fell down her face. Carl smirked a bit, angering Emma. "Sleep in the guest room tonight." With that, he walked away, leaving a battered Emma to cry in the living room.

Emma hastily wiped away her tears as Carl entered the room. He draped a tie around his neck as Emma stood up and headed for her purse on the bed. "Em." Emma turned around. "Y-Yeah?"

"Tie my tie, would you?" Emma exhaled, relieved that she hadn't done anything wrong. She walked over to him and worked on his tie as he looked her up and down. "You look great," he said, rubbing her ribs and hips with his hands. "Thank you." She felt as though she looked horrible. The dress Carl had wanted her to wear was not her style. It was a small black sweetheart dress. The back ended quite low in a V, about halfway down her back, revealing her prominent shoulder blades. It was form fitting and short, ending mid-thigh, and the neckline wasn't as modest as she'd like, either. Carl had bought it for her a while back, but she had only worn it a few times. "You know, Emma, you can tell me if you're cheating on me. I won't leave you." Emma clenched her jaw shut. So many thoughts rushed into her mind, but she couldn't say any of them. "Emma." she looked up at him. "Have you been fucking someone?" She paused for a minute. The thought to strangle him with his tie went through her head, but she decided against it. She continued. "Just you." That seemed to satisfy him. He kissed her softly on the forehead. "I love you, Emma." Emma looked down. "Do you believe me?" he asked. Emma glanced up and nodded. Carl grinned and kissed her on the lips this time. He grabbed her hips and pulled her close to him. She knew what he was trying to do. When they used to kiss, or have sex, or even cuddle, it was romantic and passionate. Now, it was tedious and usually uncomfortable for her. She would love it if it were the same, if his touch made her skin prickle in affection instead of fear. She closed her eyes as he moved to kissing her collarbone, hoping some of the spark they once had would come back, but nothing came. She sighed as he grabbed the edge of her dress. "Carl..." He bit her clavicle roughly, making her wince. "We have to go," Emma said softly. He sighed. "Fine. Later." He grabbed his tux jacket and walked out of the room. Emma watched him leave, then grabbed her purse and followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't think I mentioned this, but when I first got the idea, Emma and Carl (like my last fanfic) were still together. And I did like them together, though I've always known that Wemma was 'endgame', as the fandom says. Just a little disclaimer. Anyways. Hope you like it. Or hate it!**

"Carl, nice to see you." Carl smiled as he shook hands with a few men. "Good to see you guys." He turned to Emma. "Gentlemen, this is my wife, Emma. Emma, this is Ted, Greg, and Hank." She shook their hands and smiled politely. "Nice to meet you," she said quietly. "You, too. We've heard so much about you. I didn't know he could get a girl so pretty!" The men laughed as Emma smiled. Carl put his hand on the small of her back. "Emma, honey? Will you grab me a drink?" Emma nodded before turning to the men. "Can I get you gentlemen anything?" The men hesitated. "Uh, no, we're good, thanks." Emma nodded and walked off. The men turned to Carl. "What the hell, Carl?" Hank hissed. "Where'd you find her? Is she a mail-order bride?" Carl chuckled. "Of course not." Greg shook his head, flabbergasted. "Man, where can I trade in my old woman for one of _her_? Did you see the legs on that girl?"

Emma headed over to the buffet table and grabbed a glass of wine. "You're Carl's wife, right?" a voice said from her side. She turned and saw a group of older women standing there. She nodded. "Yeah. I'm Emma." The women looked her up and down. The woman who asked her, a blonde with a stocky build, started. "I'm Mary, Ted's wife, and this is Janet, Greg's wife, and Darcy, Hank's wife." Emma smiled. "Nice to meet you." The women said nothing, but continued looking her up and down. "You're not eating?" Janet asked. Emma, who had begun walking away, turned back to them. "I'm sorry?" Janet pointed at the food. There were platters of chicken, barbeque, steak, fish, lobster, caviar, pork, veal, lamb, and a bit of salad and pasta. "Oh, I'm not that hungry."

"You look like you could use a pork chop, honey. Come on, try one." Emma glanced at the food. "I-I'm a vegetarian," she said. Darcy snorted. Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Well, at least have some pasta, darling. It's delicious." Emma bit her lip. She really wasn't hungry, but she didn't want to be rude. "Oh... Okay." She grabbed a plate and put a little portion of pasta on it. "No, like this." Mary took the plate from her and filled it with pasta. Emma watched in awe. There was no way she could eat all of that. Mary handed the plate back to her, then gave her the glass of wine she originally came for. "Nice meeting you," Mary said. Emma smiled and walked away.

"So, did you marry her for her ass, or is this one staying around?" Ted asked. Carl laughed. Since Emma had been gone, they had been throwing in their two cents about his wife, how she seemed so sweet and compliant. He loved the men drooling over his wife, even if they _were_ a bit toasted. "She's staying around." Emma walked over and handed Carl the glass. He took a swig, then leaned in close to the men. "But I married her for the ass." The men burst into a fit of laughter. Emma blushed. She hoped Carl was joking, but she wasn't sure. Carl looked at Emma, then down at the food she was picking at. "What's that?" Emma looked at the food. "Pasta. Ted's wife said I should try some..." She looked up at Carl, who had an eyebrow raised. "Do you really think you need that?" he whispered in her ear. Emma's jaw slightly dropped at the comment. "I mean," he continued, "A moment on the lips, forever on the hips, right?" Emma gulped, then nodded. "Yeah..." Carl took the plate from her and gave it to a waiter. He turned to Emma and winked. She looked down at herself. _Does he think I'm fat_? She thought to herself. She was definitely thinner than the rest of the women here, but... she thought could always stand to lose a few pounds.

Emma could tell Carl was getting a bit tipsy. He was laughing a little more than usual, and slightly louder. The group had moved to a secluded booth away from the party to sit in, and the wives had rejoined their husbands. Carl put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her, leaving a bit of alcohol on her cheek. Emma smiled, but she wasn't having a good time. She was uncomfortable, and was hoping Carl had forgotten about what he said earlier at home. "I love you so much, Emma," he growled into her ear. She smiled. Emma knew that he was drunk, but she liked to hear him say he loved her. In a way, she kind of believed it. "You two act like newlyweds. How long have you been married?" Mary asked. Emma looked at Carl, offering him the floor. He took a swig of his third glass of wine. "About a year now." Mary nodded. "And how is the married life?" Carl grinned. "I love it. It's perfect. She's perfect." He kissed her cheek again. "And you, Emma?" Emma looked at Mary. "Oh... I love it. Carl's amazing. I'm really lucky." Mary rolled her eyes. "Bullshit." Emma looked at her curiously. "Excuse me...?"

"There's no way you two are so madly in love. What was the last thing you fought about?" Emma bit her lip and glanced at Carl. "Well..." Carl put his other hand on her thigh and squeezed it. "We were actually arguing before we got here. I was asking her if she was cheating on me." The group looked at her, making her blush. "Wha... what made you think _that_?" Ted asked. "Yeah, she looks so innocent," Greg added. Emma looked at Carl. _Why'd he tell them that_? she asked herself. And he didn't even tell the whole story. Now she looked bad, while he looked like the innocent victim. "Well, she had a bit of a history with some guy she works with." The women at the table looked her up and down as only they could. Emma felt her face getting hot. "Thank goodness she wasn't."

"How do you know?" Greg asked simply. Carl looked at Emma. She knew what he was thinking. "Well, I don't. But I trust my wife. If she tells me she's faithful to me, I have to trust her. And she has to trust me." Carl looked Emma dead in the eye when he said this. She smiled weakly. Hank raised his glass. "I propose a toast." Everyone (except for Emma, she wasn't drinking) raised their glass. "To happy couples!" Everyone toasted. "Come on, I wanna dance," Janet said, before pulling her husband out of the booth. Darcy and her husband followed, leaving Mary and Ted. They cuddled together and whispered. Emma felt very uncomfortable. She knew the group would talk later. Carl pulled her closer to him and kissed her neck. "I'm sorry about that, baby." Emma nodded. "You're mad, aren't you?" Emma glanced at Mary and Ted. "No."

"Yes, you are." Emma looked in his eyes. "I'm not mad." She could tell he didn't believe her. Why should he? She didn't believe her, either. Still, she didn't want to make him sad. Even though he treated her like shit sometimes, she still loved him. She smiled and kissed him. "I'm not mad." Mary stood up. "We'll be right back," Ted said. The two walked away. Carl grinned and kissed Emma. She could taste the red wine on his lips. Emma held his face in her hands as the two kissed. "Let's go to the bathroom." Emma pulled away. "What?" Carl smirked as he breathed heavily. "I want you, right now." He kissed Emma again, this time more forcefully, and pulled her into his lap. "You're drunk." Carl ignored her and ran his hand up her thigh. "Carl, we're in public..." That didn't stop him. He moved to her jaw as his hand toyed with her underwear. "You like that, Em?" she bit her lip and pulled her head away from him. "Carl -"

"Was I wrong, Emma?" Emma looked at him curiously. "A-About what?"

"You and Will. Are you still seeing him?" Emma shook her head. Carl blinked slowly. "Don't lie to me, Emma..." He reached for her shoulder and rubbed it gently before moving his hand to her neck. Emma felt his grip getting tighter as his eyes bore a hole into her. "Tell me." Emma pressed her eyes shut and winced in pain. "I'm telling you the truth."

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Ted and Mary walking toward them. "Carl, they're coming back." Carl quickly removed his hand as they sat back down. "Hey, guys," Carl said hastily as they walked back. Emma rubbed her neck. "Oh, my God, Emma," Mary gasped. She pointed at Emma's thigh. "What happened?" Emma looked down at where she was pointing. On her inner thigh was an enormous red and brown, bruise that resembled a handprint. Emma glanced at Carl, who looked her up and down. They both knew it was from earlier. Emma blushed and pulled her dress down. "I, uh..." She glanced at Carl. He watched her intently. "Um, I fell."

"Off of what?" Mary asked curiously. Ted snorted as he drank his wine. "Off Carl's dick," he muttered. Emma looked at him in shock. She knew what he thought. She was sure all of the men and their wives thought it. They thought she was a whore. Her dress, Carl's accusation, the brief foreplay in public... Anyone would think so. "What was that?" Carl asked angrily. He protectively yet roughly gripped Emma's knee, making her wince in pain yet again. Ted chuckled. "Look, Carl, no offense, and no offense to you, doll," he added, "But I know you. You're having some kind of weird mid-life crisis, and she's... Well, to be honest, she's too nice for you." Carl stood up angrily. "Don't you _dare_, Ted!" he shouted. Emma got up and stood in front of Carl as Ted stood. "Carl -"

"I could fucking _kill_ you!" he shouted. Ted tried to grab at him, but Mary held him back. Emma grabbed Carl's face gently and forced him to look at her. "Carl. Calm down." Carl looked at her and gulped. "You love me, right?" he said in a low voice. Emma could hear Ted shouting at them, but she focused on Carl's voice. She nodded and blinked back a few tears. "Yeah." Carl nodded and leaned in for a kiss. Emma turned at the last minute, making him kiss her cheek. She didn't feel so close to him right now. "You should get the car," she said softly. Carl looked at her intently before turning and walking away. Emma sighed and turned back to the table. "Thanks a lot, Emma," Mary said sarcastically, before storming off, leaving Ted and Emma. Emma glanced at him and grabbed her purse and Carl's tuxedo jacket. She began to walk away. "Emma." She turned around to face Ted. He took a sip of his wine, then walked over to her. "Look, I don't know you. I'm sorry if I insulted you." He looked her up and down and stepped a little closer. "You know, I'd do the same thing if I was him. You're a great catch." As he said that, he trailed his hand down her back and ribs to her hip, then her rear. Emma looked at his hand. "What are you doing?" Ted smirked and squeezed her ass. She pushed him off. "Emma." Emma turned and saw Carl standing there, watching. Emma looked at Ted once more before walking to Carl. Carl looked her up and down, then wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out.

The two sat in silence as the driver took them home. Emma looked at Carl. His jaw was clenched, and he stared straight ahead. She reached for his hand, but he moved it. "Carl... I'm sorry." Carl looked at her, then turned back ahead. "We'll talk at home."

Emma got out of the car as Carl paid the driver. She waited for him to get out. As soon as he did, he pushed past Emma and went into the house. Carl stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. Emma sighed. She knew he would let her have it tonight. She took off her heels, then went into the kitchen and put two spoons in the freezer before heading to the bedroom. Carl was undoing his tie. He turned to Emma. "What the hell was that?" Emma scanned the room quickly, making sure there was nothing close to him to hit her with. "I... He just grabbed me, I didn't..." Carl slowly walked to her. "You didn't what?" Emma hesitated, unsure how to handle the situation. "I didn't mean to make you mad..." Carl shook his head and walked away. Emma didn't know what to do. She walked over to him and lightly touched his shoulder. "Carl, I'm sorr-" He turned around quickly and backhanded her. She shrieked and fell onto the bed behind her. Carl turned around and looked at her evilly. "You're gonna leave me, aren't you?" Emma buried her face in the bed and trembled in fear, terrified of what might happen if she got up. It didn't matter. Carl grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her up. Emma looked at his chest fearfully. Carl jerked her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "Answer me." Emma shook her head. "No."

"No _what_?" Emma gulped. _Don't be stupid, Emma_... "No, I'm not going to leave you." Carl trailed his index finger from her chin down her torso. "Why not?" Emma thought about the question. Because she was afraid of him. Because she had nowhere to go. Because she was afraid to be alone. "Because I love you." Carl looked down at her with anger in his eyes. "Show me..." Emma gazed into his eyes. "I didn't forget, baby," he growled. Emma licked her lips. She didn't want to do this. Still, she'd rather have sex with her husband than be beat by him. With trembling hands, she took off his tie, then began to unbutton his shirt. She slowly pushed it off of him and looked up at him. She could tell he was getting a sick and twisted joy out of this. Still, she knew this was all her fault; she should have defended their relationship. Besides, this _was_ her husband. What kind of woman didn't want to make love to her husband?

Emma stood in front of Carl, not sure what to do next. She breathed shallowly and looked down. Carl grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him before kissing her. He tangled his hand in her hair and forced their mouths closer. "My pants, dear," he whispered in between kisses. Emma paused, then undid his slacks. Carl grinned and pushed her dress up with one hand. She closed her eyes as he reached up and lightly touched her underwear. "Carl, I'm really tired." Carl pushed her backwards against a wall before biting hard on her clavicle. "Ow! Stop!" Emma pushed him back with all her might, catching Carl (and herself) off guard. She immediately regretted it; his wild look of rage and lust frightened her. He stood in shock for a moment as Emma panted. "Take off your dress." Emma didn't move, angering Carl. "I _said_ take off your _fucking_ dress." Emma didn't know what to do. There were only a handful of options, if that. But she knew that sex was the farthest thing on her mind. She sighed and unzipped the back of her dress, then took it off, leaving her only in her underthings. Emma began folding it, but Carl snatched it away and tossed it on the ground. "On the bed." A tear slipped down her face. "No."

Something went off in Carl. She saw it. Still, she knew that he would never force her into copulation, no matter how close he got, or where he touched her. They both knew that.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't hit her. Again, that was something they both knew. Carl grabbed her throat with both hands and pushed her against the wall. Her feet barely touched the ground. She pulled at his hands, but to no avail. "Don't test me, Emma." He slammed her against the wall once more. She leaned her head back, hoping to get some air, but... Her eyes rolled back in her head. Carl loosened his grip briefly, allowing her about 3 seconds of gasping before tightening his grip again. She tried to push him away with her leg, but he forced his knee into her thigh, sending a blunt pain throughout her leg. "Carl..." The room began to spin, and everything got dark as her breathing went a mile a minute, then stopped...


	3. Chapter 3

**In case any of you were wondering, the title came from the movie **_**Bully. **_**It's a great movie, if anyone cares to watch it. It's nothing like this story, but the title just fit. Also, the song Teenage Lust has the lyric I used in the description. It's a good song, I'd recommend either the Les Demoniaques version or the North Oliver Boy Choir cover (both can be found on youtube or tumblr) It was also 'featured' in my other fanfic! Anyways... Here we go.**

* * *

><p>The alarm on Emma's nightstand went off loudly, waking Emma up. She slowly opened her eyes, then looked at the clock. She reached to turn it off, but her arm fell back on the bed as soon as she lifted it. She sighed and closed her eyes again. "Mmh..." Just then, Carl walked through the door. He turned off the alarm. "Sorry, Ems. I forgot to turn it off." He sat next to her on the bed and lightly stroked her hair. "How you feelin'?" Emma looked up at him tiredly. Though Carl was now even-tempered, if not cheerful, he had bags under his dark eyes. She could tell he, like her, had not gotten a good night's rest. She sat up and rubbed her head. "Oh, babe... Here." Carl opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a pill bottle. He took two pills out and handed them to Emma. "You'll feel better." She hesitated, then took them in her hand. "I'll be back." Carl got up and walked out of the room, humming as he did. Emma watched him go, then looked at the clock. 6:34. She had to be at work at 7:00.<p>

Emma pushed the covers off of her and looked down at herself. She was in one of Carl's college sweatshirts. Emma scooted up against the headboard and winced. She turned and looked at her hip. She could see the edge of a large brown bruise forming on her thigh, close to the first one. It hurt like hell, but at least it wouldn't be visible to anyone. Carl entered the room again, this time with a tray of food. He placed it on the side of Emma and handed her a glass of green tea. "I made you breakfast. There's French toast, tofu scramble, and hash browns, baked, not fried. You should really take that medicine." Emma put the pills in her mouth and swallowed them, then took a sip of the tea. She watched nervously as Carl sat next to her. He looked at her legs and stared at the bruises on them. She shifted uncomfortably and tugged at the sweater, hoping to hide the bruises from his gaze. "I thought you'd be more comfortable in that..." He looked up at her, hoping she would smile, or kiss him, or... Something. Instead, she simply nodded. "Thank you," she whispered. Carl nodded sadly and continued staring at her bruise. "I'm so sorry, Emma." He gazed into her eyes. She looked up at him. He seemed so sincere, so loving...

A few tears fell down Emma's face. She cursed herself for crying, she hated crying in front of him, but instead of smirking in self-satisfaction, he held her face and wiped them away with his thumb. "I'm sorry for hurting you." He kissed her gently and grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt. "Please -" Emma began. Carl shushed her. "I'm not going to hurt you." He pulled the collar down a bit, revealing bloodstained gauze. He slowly peeled it off and kissed the wound. His sensitivity confused Emma. _Why is he being so nice? _Carl moved his head to her thigh and kissed the largest bruise (about the size of her fist). "Please forgive me. I don't want to lose you." Emma clenched her jaw. Even though he had put her through Hell, she didn't want to lose him, either. He hugged her tightly and kissed her shoulder. "Don't leave me. I love you." Carl began crying as he rested his head on her shoulder.

Emma buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him tightly. "I won't," she whispered. And she wouldn't. She loved him. Carl released her and kissed her again softly. "I'll leave you alone." He got up and walked out, leaving Emma to her breakfast. She looked at all of the food; it looked delicious. _Do you really think you need that?_ Carl's words played over in over in her head as she looked at the food. _Well, maybe just some tofu_, she thought. Emma took a bite of food. It didn't taste as good as she thought it would. The food itself tasted the same, but it wasn't satisfying. She put the fork down and sipped on her tea as she examined her legs. They were nice, toned, shapely... But not to Emma. Not anymore.

As Emma picked at the hash browns, she thought about the previous night's events, and what she had done to instigate it. She knew it was her fault; if she hadn't gone through Carl's phone, if she hadn't accused him of infidelity, if she would have defended him (no, _them_)she wouldn't have these bruises. She made a mental note not to do anything like that again. Carl shouldn't have apologized, she should've. He had hurt her, sure, but she hurt him first.

Emma stood up and headed into the bathroom. She stepped on the scale and waited patiently for the electronic numbers to pop up. In about four seconds, they did. Emma weighed 116. She sighed and headed back into the bedroom, then grabbed the food and went into the kitchen. Carl was standing in the kitchen, sipping coffee and reading a book. "How was the food?" Emma placed the food on the counter. "Um, it's good, thanks... But I'm not really hungry." Carl quickly looked her up and down. "Emma, you haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon." Carl grabbed the fork and took a bite of the hash browns. "I know, I just..." She didn't know what to say. She _was_ hungry, but it wasn't too bad. "It's what I said last night, right?" Carl said in a low voice. Emma didn't reply. "Emma, you're not fat. At all." She smiled, but she didn't believe him. "I shouldn't have said anything yesterday. That was really stupid." Emma shook her head. "No, it's fine." Carl nodded. "I'll finish this." Emma nodded. "I'm gonna get ready for work."

"Are you sure you wanna go?" Emma nodded again. "Yeah. Um... Yeah, I should go." Carl watched as she headed into the room.

Emma entered the living room again twenty minutes later, this time in a coral pencil skirt and a crisp white long sleeve button up. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen table. Carl watched her bustle around as she looked for her keys. "Shoot..." Carl glanced around and saw her keys lying on the kitchen counter. He grabbed them and walked over to her. "Here." He handed her the keys. "Thanks. I'll, uh... I'll see you later." She began to walk off, but Carl gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Hey." He kissed her softly. Emma hesitated, then kissed him back. "I love you," he said. The corners of Emma's lips curled up as she looked at him hopefully. "I love you, too." He grinned at her, making Emma's heart flutter. She kissed him once more. The spark was back, but not as strong. It was something, though. She could always work for more. She pulled away, then walked out of the house.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Pillsbury, I'm still confused." Emma bit her tongue, trying so hard not to come off as sarcastic to Brittany. "Brittany, you can't <em>become<em> African American." Brittany blinked. "But Mercedes is."

"Yes, I realize that, honey, but Mercedes was born that way. The same way you were born blonde, I was born short, and Sue was born evil." Brittany giggled as Emma smiled warmly. "Besides, you're perfect the way you are. Okay?" Brittany nodded. "Okay... I have another question." Emma glanced at the clock and nodded. "Sure."

"What happened to your neck?" Emma blushed as Brittany pointed to her neck. The bruise from a few nights ago was still there. Thank goodness she covered the bite mark on her collarbone. "Oh, uh..." Brittany tilted her head to the side. "Is it a hickey?"

"No, it's... I burned myself with my curling iron." Brittany nodded. "Oh. Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Pillsbury." Brittany stood up and walked out of the room. Once Emma knew Brittany was nowhere close, she pulled out a compact and looked at her neck. She had forgotten to cover it this morning. It wasn't as bad as before, but still noticeable. She put some concealer on to lighten it. "Ugh..." Emma was so embarrassed. The lunch bell rang. Emma went into her desk and pulled out a small bag of snap peas before heading to the teacher's lounge. She headed to an empty table. "Emma!" Emma turned around and saw Will sitting at a table by himself. He smiled and waved her over. "Hey, Em. Long time, no see." Emma nodded and opened her bag of peas. "I know, I'm sorry. How have you been?"

"I'm alright. Can't complain. I met Holly's folks the other day." Emma looked away. She had forgotten about Holly. It wasn't as though she loved Will still, or at least not in the same magnitude as she once had, but she knew that their friendship would be strained now that they both had significant others. "How are you?" Emma slowly munched on her food. "Um, I'm good." She thought for a moment, but nothing interesting came. "And Carl? How's he?" The night before popped into her head. "He's fine." Will looked at her intently. He could tell something was wrong, she knew it. "Okay... I'm sorry, Emma, are you sick?" Emma shook her head. "No, why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering... you look a little pale. Are you okay?" Before Emma could answer, Will leaned forward and moved her hair from her neck. "Emma, what is that?" She pulled away. The bruise on her neck was lighter, sure, but it was still noticeable. "It's nothing." Will peered at her neck intently. "Emma, what happened?" Emma looked at him, heartbroken.

"I... Uh..."

"Is it... A hickey?" Emma blushed and looked away. "Uh... Yeah. I'm really embarrassed about it." Will nodded. "Oh, no, it's no big deal... I just, I didn't know you liked them." Emma didn't know what to say. She wished she could just tell Will the truth, that she hated them, but she knew it'd be best if she kept her mouth shut. "Can I ask you something personal, Emma?" She nodded, anticipating the question. "Are you still, you know, a Vi..." A light red flush came about his face and ears as soon as his words left his mouth. "Y-You don't have to answer if you don't want to, it's okay -"

"No... I'm not." she said softly. It hurt her to tell him. Will nodded. "Oh. Uh... I see." She could tell he was curious about it, but was too much a gentlemen to ask. Will poked at the pasta salad he was eating. "Well, well, if it isn't the Rag Tag Wonder Twins." Standing over Will was Sue Sylvester, holding a scalding cup of coffee. "Sue, it's 1:00. Why are you drinking coffee?" Will asked. Sue scoffed. "Well, Will, I like to be alert. That way I'm ready to react, like a snake. Say, Eldridge, what's going on with you? You look like a scrawny white Rihanna with all those bruises." Emma's jaw slightly dropped. Looking closer at Emma, Will noticed that not only did Emma have a bruise on her neck, but one on the opposite side on her jaw, and a band-aid on her collarbone. Emma blushed a light pink. "I bruise easily, is all."

She could tell neither Sue or Will believed her. "Elise, you look like you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in days. Now, I don't want to know what you and your sadomasochistic sex addict husband do in your free time, but if you're gonna get roughed up, at least put a pound of makeup on." Emma looked away. She was so embarrassed. Not only was she covered in contusions, but Sue now thought she was a kinky freak. _Great_. "Tell me, Eli, what's your safety word when Carl roughs you up?" Emma bit her tongue. She glanced up at Sue before looking at the table in shame. "Sue, that's enough," Will said firmly. Sue rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you the same thing about your hair gel, amigo." She winked at Emma and walked away. As soon as she left, Will turned to Emma. "Carl doesn't get physical with you, right?" Slowly, Will reached for her hand. "Emma, if he is -"

"He isn't, Will." Emma moved her hand. Will nodded and took a bite of his salad. "Alright. Do you want some of my pasta? Peas don't seem too filling." Emma shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you." She stood. "I'll see you later, Will," she said softly. Will smiled. "Okay. Bye, Emma." He watched as she slowly walked out.

_What is it that excites me almost to tears (hot, opalescent, thick tears that poets and lovers shed)? This, I guess, is at the root of our troubles. And now see how I was repaid for my pains. _Emma sat in her office, quietly reading _Lolita_ by Vladimir Nabokov. This summed things up quite well, she thought. She loved Carl with all of her heart, and she knew he was the one she wanted to be with, but she missed the old Carl. The Carl who brought her flowers for no reason, and who spent most of his spare time with her. It hurt her to see him change. Still, she felt the need to be there for him, even though he shut her out. Luckily, it was getting better. She highlighted the section in the book, making a mental note to read it again. Suddenly, her office phone rang. She absentmindedly picked it up and placed it in between her shoulder and ear as she read. "This is Emma," she said lazily. "Hey, Ems." She put her book down and grabbed the phone. "Hey. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how your day was going." Emma glanced at her watch. 2:33. "It's going good. And yours?" She began packing her things up as he talked. "Ugh, I've had better." He paused for a moment as he spoke to someone in the room. "But I just got on the phone... Ugh, fine. Em, I gotta go, my secretary's on my ass about some important phone call. I'll call you later. I love you."

"I love you, too." Emma hung up the phone and continued reading. _Why did I hope we would be happy? A change is the traditional fallacy upon which doomed loves, and lungs, rely._ Emma again highlighted the passage. It wasn't a fallacy. Not to Emma. No, change helps, always... At least, she thought it did.

_Thump thump._ Emma looked up and saw Will knocking on the doorframe and smiling. "Hey, Emma." Emma closed her book. "Hey, Will. Come on in." Will shook his head. "No, it's cool, I just came by to invite you to come watch the Glee club practice." He looked at her hopefully. "Oh, Will... I, uh... I can't. I'm really sorry."

"Do you miss me?" he asked curiously, catching her off guard. "W-What?" Will looked at the ground for a moment. "I miss you, Emma. As a friend, as..." he cleared his throat. "As more than a friend." Emma nodded and looked at her book. "Why?" There was something in her voice that made Will nervous. She sounded insecure. He furrowed his brow. "Emma, what to do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm not Holly or anything. She's pretty, and funny, and thin -"

"So are you, Emma. Even more so than she is. What's going on with you? I'm worried." Emma wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She _wouldn't_. Not if she could help it. "Emma." She looked up from her desk and saw Carl standing there, next to Will. "Carl... What are you doing here?" He looked horrible. His eyes were red and his face pale. "I wanted to talk to you, but..." Carl glanced at Will. "... I'll see you at home." Emma stood up as Carl walked out. "Carl -" He shook his head, silencing her, and walked away. Will watched him, then turned to Emma, who stood there helplessly. "Emma, what's going on?" His voice snapped her out of her trance. "Is everything okay?" She looked at him with an etiolated gaze. "I don't know." She stood and grabbed her purse and book. "I have to go."

"Emma -" Emma walked past Will and down the hallway. She pulled out her cell phone and tried to call Carl. It went straight to voicemail. "Carl, it's Emma. Please call me back... I'm worried. I love you."

Emma entered their home, took off her shoes, and looked around. On the coffee table was an empty beer and an open bottle of wine. How he had managed to drink so soon was beyond her. She imagined he drove home recklessly as he so often did, but still, he would have gotten home only 20 minutes before she did. She put her purse and keys down, then grabbed the beer bottle and wine and took them into the kitchen. On the island counter was another bottle. She grabbed that one as well and threw them all in the trash. "Carl?" she called out. There was no response. She walked to their room. The door was cracked open.

She pushed the door open and saw Carl sitting on the bed. He looked up at her. His eyes were filled with tears, but it looked as though he had no intent to let them rush down his face. "Carl... What's wrong?" He blinked slowly. "You believe in God, right, Emma?" She licked her lips and glanced at the floor. "I believe in something greater than us, yes..."

"You're a good person... So why did he make it so that you would be with someone so horrible?" Emma thought about the question, and searched her mind for an answer. "He didn't make it that way. We did." Carl nodded. "Why don't you leave me?" Emma swallowed. "I don't know... I don't want to." Carl stood and walked to her. "Yes, you do." Carl pushed past her and headed for the living room. Emma followed right behind him. "Carl -" He quickly turned around and grabbed her arms roughly with both hands. "_I know what you see in me_! You don't want this. I can tell... Last night, you didn't want to be near me." Tears streamed down his face as he let go of her. As soon as he did, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He buried his head into her shoulder and hugged her back. She pulled away and kissed him. Sparks went down her spine, into her fingertips, her neck... She opened her mouth and deepened the kiss before moving her hands to the buttons on his shirt. He watched her hands work as they unbuttoned his shirt. "I get scared when..." She trailed off. Carl grabbed her wrists softly and pulled them down. "Stop." She looked up at him, confused. It seemed perfect, this moment, yet it was far from it. It was the epitome of their relationship, in a way. She survived off the sweet short bursts of love, and he was high from the rest, his downer moments like these, while his upper was the bruises and tears. They both felt it, but neither recognized it. Carl silently led her to the living room and sat down on the couch, motioning for her to do the same. She sat next to him as he turned on the TV, cuddling into his arm and chest as he played the movie _A Place in the Sun_. Later, they would share that sweet moment both wanted but neither knew to ask for.

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><p><strong>Is this too 'emotional'? The writing, I mean. I don't want to write like a 1930's feminist author. Yeah, we'll tone it down. Hopefully I'm getting the characters down. If you have any advice, please let me know!<br>**

**To Peggie Sue: I don't think I'd like to do a Wemma fic. While they are a good couple at times, it seems so overdone and I don't want to fall into a pit of all that is Wemma. I'd be willing to use another character, however, if you (or anyone else) have any opinions/ideas, let me know... I just WON'T use teenagers. So that leaves Terri (which, to be honest, is my first choice), April, Holly, Beiste, Figgins, Burt or Carol, or Sue. Will it be romantic? I'm not sure. But she'll definitely be getting a friend... Though I don't know for how long.**


	4. Chapter 4

**thanks for reading this far! I hope i make you guys feel something... I think that's what good writers do. If you hate me for writing this, I've done a good job :] but if you hate the story because it's boring/horribly written, I'm a Lima loser.**

Things had gotten worse. Ever since that romantic night they had after Carl's emotional unveiling, they had drifted back into the danger zone. She never saw Carl anymore, only when they were eating dinner, or going to bed. He stayed out late, later than usual. More and more beer, wine and spirits were being bought. Their liquor cabinet was once filled with a few bottles of wine, saved only for romantic dinners and late nights working. Now it was spilling with Johnnie Walker Black Label and Jack Daniels, so much so that they had about four bottles out on the kitchen counter next to the knife set. It had bothered Emma that they were so distant after a night like that, but not enough to say something. She thought it was taking a toll on her health; this week, she had been getting lightheaded and had begun throwing up. There was a plus side; she had lost about 10 lbs. It didn't sound like much, but she was still proud. Especially at work. People had begun making comments behind her back about how much weight she lost, how thin she was before to how thin she was now, amongst other things.

And then there was Will. He had asked her about her weight. Emma simply brushed it off by saying that she had been getting sick. He had not given up on reiterating his feelings for her. It was never a blunt 'I love you', but more modest, as he always was.

Emma walked down a grocery aisle, pushing a cart filled with miscellaneous items. She scanned the rows of shampoo for an organic choice. Suddenly, she felt her knees wobble. She clutched the cart tightly to keep her balance and took a few deep breaths before continuing. _What's wrong with me?_ She thought to herself. Her eyes trailed away to the end of the aisle. She exhaled and walked to the end before grabbing the item she was eyeing.

_All at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other; hopelessly, I should add, because that frenzy of mutual possession might have been assuaged only by out actually imbibing and assimilating every particle of each other's soul and flesh. _Emma sat on the couch with a glass of water and a blanket as she read _Lolita_. She highlighted the passage. It was funny, the book had lines in it that translated directly to her life, but not in the way it was intended.

She continued reading, sniffling occasionally as she did. It looked as though she had been crying; there were tear streaks going down her face, and her eyelashes were wet.

Carl entered the house. He glanced at her before walking past. Emma sighed as she watched him stomp into their bedroom. She closed her book and put it on the coffee table before heading into the room. "Carl? Are you okay?" Carl came out from the walk in closet and undid his tie hastily. "I'm fine." She walked over to him and helped with his tie. "Are you sure? You seem upset..." She undid the knot and put the tie around her neck before moving to help him out of his shirt. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. "I'm _fine_." Carl shook his head and quickly unbuttoned his shirt, then tossed it on the floor. Emma picked it up and put it in the hamper, then went to hang up his tie. "Is there anything I can do?" This was the last straw for Carl. He turned to her and grabbed a fistful of hair violently. Emma gasped and tried to pry his hands off, but it was no use. "You wanna know what you can do? _Huh_?" He pulled her hair even harder, making her cry out in pain and fall to her knees. "Get on your knees and do what you do best." Emma didn't move, angering Carl. "You heard me. What, Do you need help?" Emma blinked back a few tears and looked down. Carl kneeled down next to her. "What's going on?" Emma looked away as a few tears slipped down her face. She knew she had to tell him eventually... Carl grabbed her chin roughly. "_Speak_." Emma looked him dead in the eye. The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment, until Emma finally spoke.

"I'm pregnant."

Carl stared at her for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. She couldn't tell if he was happy, or angry, or neither. "How... How long?" She shook her head. "I don't know." Carl nodded and looked down. "Carl..." She reached out to touch his shoulder, but decided against it and retracted her hand. All of a sudden, Carl hugged her tightly. She froze for a second, before melting into his arms. He began crying. "We're gonna have a baby," he whispered. Emma sobbed into Carl's shoulder as he gently stroked her hair. "We're gonna be parents, Emma."

The two sat opposite each other on the couches in the living room. Emma watched as Carl shifted in his seat uneasily. "So... When did you find out?" he asked quietly. "Today." He nodded. "We should go to the doctor."

"I've already made an appointment for Friday, after work." Carl nodded again. "But, Carl... I think we need to change things between us." Carl glanced up at her, avoiding eye contact. "Like what?" The hitting was a main concern for her, but there was no way she could say that directly. "I don't want our child to grow up... In an unhealthy environment." She chose her words carefully so as not to upset Carl. He nodded. "Me, either. So, what do we do? I don't want to go to therapy."

"But -"

"_No therapy_." Emma bit her lip to keep anything from slipping. She nodded. "Okay. We'll figure something else out." Carl nodded and stood. "I'm gonna get a glass of wine." Carl went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine. As he did, Emma entered the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, then headed back towards the living room. "Emma." Emma turned around to face Carl. "Yeah?"

"Eat something." Emma glanced down at her water. "I-I'm not hungry -"

"_Eat_." Emma licked her lips and put her water down before slowly heading to the pantry. She grabbed a granola bar, but Carl snatched it away. "Real food, Emma. Here, sit down." Emma obliged as Carl headed to the fridge. He scanned its contents before pulling out a tuperware container filled with pasta salad. "Here." He grabbed a fork and placed the food and utensil in front of her. She glanced at it, then looked at him nervously She hadn't had pasta in about a month; it was too many carbs for her. She had been living off of oatmeal and vegetables for the most part. Of course, she had her weak days where she would gorge on desserts and junk food. But it was her choice when she ate. She didn't like that Carl was trying to control her food. Still, she knew it'd be best if she listened to him. After all, she was now eating for two. She picked up the fork and took a small bite of her food. Carl picked up his wine and sat down next to her. "How much do you weigh, Emma?" he asked curiously. Emma swallowed and took another bite, avoiding eye contact with her husband. "Why do you ask?"

"I want you to be healthy. And our baby. You've lost a lot of weight. I just want to know exactly how much." Emma pushed her food around. She wasn't hungry at all. She just wanted to go to sleep. "107." Carl nodded. She could tell he wasn't too pleased to hear that. "I want you to 115. Okay?" Emma hesitated before slowly nodding. "Okay."

She had gotten to 110 before feeling like a failure. Carl hadn't said anything about it, so she felt safe not always eating dinner. Emma knew she should be eating, her child's life depended on it, but she felt she wasn't completely depriving her body, or her baby's; she had bought vitamins that she took twice a day, and she would eat healthy food for all her meals. No junk food, not even what she craved the most. No, just organic food, vitamins, and water. That's what she believed to be best for them both.

But tonight she would indulge; Carl was taking her out to dinner. Emma finished applying mascara as Carl entered the room in a fashionable outfit, complete with a long black pea coat and a cashmere scarf. "You ready, honey?" he asked as he fixed his scarf. She stood and smoothed out the front of her dark blue dress before following him out the door.

"I'll have the cavatappi marinara with a glass of chardonnay, and for her..." Carl looked at Emma before turning back to the waiter. "She'll have the penne fusilli." The two handed the waiter the menus. "It's nice to get out, isn't it?" Carl said as he looked around. The upscale restaurant was filled with the elite Ohio had to offer. Emma had only been here once, when she and Carl had first begun dating, and he wanted to introduce her to his world of luxury. "How was your day?" Emma asked politely. Carl shrugged. "It was a day. All I could think about was dinner. And yours? I hope you weren't on your feet all day." Emma smiled at his concern for her well-being. "No, I wasn't. Just filing papers, working on the senior transcripts, that's it." Carl nodded. "Have you thought of any names?" Emma thought for a moment. "I like the name Jonathan for a boy. And for a girl... Audrey, and Vivienne." Carl smiled. "Very proper names. I like them." Emma grinned. "I'm assuming you want a boy?" Carl laughed. "I do. First. I'd like to have a girl next." The idea of a perfect family of four pleased Emma, but she had never thought of what she would have to go through emotionally and physically to carry a child. Even now, she felt a mixed range of emotions. Everyday she questioned herself; Would she be a good mother? Would Carl change? _Should_ Carl change? Or should she?

"Hey, Emma. Carl." Emma turned around to where the voice was coming from. It was Will. "Will... H-Hi." Will smiled at her before shaking Carl's hand. "Nice to see you again, Will," Carl said politely. "You, too. I'm sorry to intrude on your guys' date night, I just wanted to say hi." Carl waved a hand, dismissing Will's words. "Not a problem."

"Are you on a date with Holly?" Emma asked curiously. Will shook his head. "No, actually... We broke up a few days ago. I just finished eating dinner by myself." Emma nodded. Their waiter appeared again with a bottle of wine. He showed it to Carl, who nodded approvingly. "Celebrating?" Will asked. Emma looked away as Carl grinned. "Emma hasn't told you?" Will glanced at Emma. "She's pregnant." Will turned to Emma, wide-eyed. "Y-You're... Oh. Oh! Congratulations." He shook Carl's hand again and awkwardly hugged Emma. "Well, I should leave you to alone to celebrate. I'll see you later, Carl. Emma... I guess I'll talk to you later." Emma nodded as Will walked away.

**Any ideas? I know where I'm taking it, but I wouldn't mind changing it. I also would love to hear what you guys THINK is gonna happen... I won't tell you if you're right, of course, but it'll make things fun ;]**


	5. Chapter 5

**So of course when I try and post links, it doesn't work. It happened on my other fic to. Anyway, its songs-for-emma-pillsbury on tumblr, if anyone's interested! **

**I love hearing what you all have to say. It's interesting. I will say this: Things are gonna get a lot worse and more confusing for Emma (and of course, the reader) before they get better.**

**This chapter's kind of slow, but I needed a bridge to an idea I had in my head...**

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><p>"Mh... Carl. The phone's ringing." Carl exhaled. "I'm sleeping." Emma sighed and leaned over him to pick up the phone. "Hello?" She looked at the clock. It was 1:46 in the morning. "Hello, this is Vernita Kelley, I'm calling from ULMC. Is Mr. Howell available?" ULMC. That was Upper Lima Medical Center. "He's not, no. I'm his wife. Is there something I can help you with?" She heard the woman shuffle around papers. "Yes, Mrs. Emma Pillsbury-Howell, right? I'm calling in regards to your father-in-law, Wayne Howell. He had a heart attack. His second one." Emma glanced at Carl, who was sleeping peacefully. "He's in critical right now... and to be honest, things aren't looking so good." Emma exhaled. "We'll head over there right now." She hung up the phone and rubbed her eyebrow before looking at Carl. She sat cross-legged next to him and rubbed his chest and shoulder. "Carl."<p>

"Mmm..." He opened his eyes drowsily. "Yeah, babe?" She looked at the hand that was on his chest and slowly withdrew it. "We need to go." Carl furrowed his brow. "It's your dad."

Emma watched as Carl anxiously cracked his knuckles with his thumb. She knew he was uncomfortable. It was understandable, anyone in his situation would be. She reached over and grabbed his hand, the same way she had with Will when Burt was in the hospital. He held it tightly. He was shaking. Emma looked at him sadly, but he stared straight ahead at the linoleum tile.

"Mr. Howell?" The two looked up at a small woman with a firm face. "I'm Dr. Palmer, your father's cardiologist." She glanced at Emma. "Do you mind if we -"

"She's my wife, it's okay." He rubbed Emma's hand with his thumb as she held onto his arm with her other hand. "I see. Well, Mr. Howell, you're father isn't doing well. This being his second heart attack, there isn't much we can do..." Her voice seemed to get further and further from the two. They both knew what she was getting at, but neither wanted it to be true. "... It's ultimately up to you if you'd like to keep him on life support." Emma looked up at Carl. She could see his eyes were filled with tears, but he had a blank look on his face. "You're more than welcome to see him now if you'd like. We can talk later about your decision." Carl nodded. "Thank you."

The doctor nodded and walked away, leaving Emma and Carl in silence. A single tear dropped down his face. He hastily wiped it away and turned to Emma. "Um... We should see him." It wasn't a question, but it seemed as though he wanted Emma to confirm it was the right thing to do. She nodded and followed him down the hall, into his father's room.

"Hey, Dad," Carl said quietly. The older man in the bed coughed and looked up. "Hey, son." Wayne looked over at Emma. "Hello, there, Emma. Long time, no see." Emma smiled politely. "Hi, Mr. Howell."

"Emma, come now, call me Wayne." Emma nodded. She glanced at Carl, who had moved to a chair beside his dad's bed. He was looking at his father's bed, but refused to look at his face. "How are you feeling?" she asked, hoping Carl would snap back into reality. "I've seen better days, Emma." The man coughed again, this time into a handkerchief. "How are you, darling?"

"She's pregnant." Carl glanced up at his father before looking at his hands. Wayne looked from each of them before grinning. "Congratulations, you two. How far along are you?" Emma smiled sadly. She had imagined that they would tell him in a happier setting. "About two months." He nodded. "That's great. I wish I'd be able to see them grow up." The topic everyone had wanted to tiptoe around had come up. Emma looked at the ground as Carl sighed. "I'm not stupid, Carl, I know what has to be done." Emma looked to Carl and saw that he was crying. "I never was one for religion." Emma looked back at her father-in-law. "It seemed so... So far, in a way. No one _really_ died. I thought, anyway. I guess it never hits you until you're so close to it." Carl grabbed his father's hand. "I'm so sorry, Dad..." Carl held his forehead with his other hand as he cried, his shoulders shaking violently.

"Don't be, son. Embrace it. We'll all die one day." The old man looked at his son's wife. "Emma." Emma looked up tentatively. "Come here, please." Emma walked over to Wayne nervously. She felt uncomfortable being there, as if she were intruding, but Carl had wanted her there, and she couldn't refuse. "I know Carl's not religious. I don't know if you are... But I'd really appreciate it if you would pray for me." Emma hesitated. "I don't know what to say."

"Say whatever comes to mind. No book is going to tell you the right thing." Emma nodded and held the man's free hand. Carl looked up at her before closing his eyes. Wayne followed suit. Emma thought for a moment before looking down at her hand in the older gentleman's. "Heavenly Father... Thank you for the blessings that you've placed into all of our lives, as well as the trials and tribulations in which we learn and grow. I pray that... That you guide your son through his..." She cleared her throat, skipping the phrase 'his passing'. "Let him rest in peace with You, Lord, now and forever. St. Joseph, pray for him. Amen." Emma looked up at the man and saw tears streaming down his face. Carl's face was also stained with tears. "Thank you, dear. Um, would you mind giving me a moment alone with Carl?" Emma nodded and smiled sadly before leaning over and hugging the man. The two kissed each other on the cheek gently before Emma pulled herself up and left the room.

She stood in the waiting room for about two minutes before Carl hastily left the room. He walked past her briskly and headed for the exit. She followed him, but said nothing, hoping not to repeat the last time she tried to comfort him. It hurt to see him so upset, but she knew that no words she could say would make the hurt disappear.

* * *

><p>Emma was relieved the funeral was over. The gathering itself was bearable; most were talking about Wayne and his achievements, or funny memories they had with the deceased man. Others drank wine and looked around as if they had merely worked with the man. Emma did neither. She was in the living room of her home where the gathering was at, politely chatting with whomever felt the urge to introduce themselves. After an hour of mingling, Emma had had enough. She excused herself from a group of people and headed through the house in search for Carl. "Carl?" she said as she walked down the hall. She heard something coming from her bedroom. "Carl?" She pushed open the door to the master bedroom slowly and looked in. Carl was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows propping him up. In front of him was a brunette on her knees with her face in his lap. "Mm, Carla..." He tangled one of his hands in the girl's hair as she sucked him off. Emma's face went hot with rage. She turned away and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind her. As soon as she did, she burst into tears. How could he cheat on her? She turned on the sink faucet, hoping that would drain out the sound of her crying. She didn't know exactly <em>why<em> she was crying, he had cheated on her before (she assumed), but... It hurt a lot more knowing that he would turn to a woman she was sure he barely knew instead of to her. Granted, she wouldn't do what the other did (her issue with germs, though not as severe, was still existent), but she could do enough.

Or maybe not. _Maybe_, she thought_, I'm not good enough._ Maybe she was too inexperienced, to naïve, too unwilling. Maybe it _was_ her fault.

There was a knock at the door. She hastily wiped away her tears and opened the door. It was Carl. "Hey. What's wrong?" Emma shook her head. "Nothing." She tried to walk past, but Carl stopped her. "Emma. _What_." Just as he said that, the brunette walked past them. The two women made eye contact for a brief second. Carl glanced over his shoulder as the brunette walked away. "Who is she?" Emma asked quietly. "No one."

"You're lying! You cheated on me!"

Carl shushed her and pushed himself into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "I said she's _no_ _one_, Emma."

"So you let _nobodies_ suck you off?" Carl grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall roughly. "What do you want from me, Emma? _You're_ not doing it! So I found someone who would." A tear fell down Emma's face. "I'm your wife, Carl." Carl scoffed. "Emma, today isn't about you." Emma looked at the ground. He was right. She shouldn't have brought it up. It was her father-in-law's funeral, after all. She nodded. "I'm sorry." Carl leaned in close and kissed her softly, then her neck. She could smell the other woman's cheap perfume on him. "We'll talk later. Right now I'm gonna go talk to our _guests_. I thought you could take care of hosting while I grieve, but apparently not." He let go of her arms and walked out. Emma sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. Though she wanted to stay in the bathroom and wallow in self-pity, she knew that wasn't an option. Not now. Now she had to go out and entertain the guests with her husband for another half hour.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm trying to keep the chapters short, I like them to be around the 1000 -1500 range, but they're getting kind of long! Personally, I find it hard to read 6000 word chapters, usually because I'm doing something else while reading. I hope to upload a chapter a day, but we'll see how that goes.<strong>

**Oh, and this WILL end, right after we have a solid conclusion. I'm not gonna drag it on for 56 chapters. No, it will most likely go to 20-30, IF THAT.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews, I love hearing what everyone thinks! I know exactly where I'm taking this, but the in-between core chapters are the hardest to write... **

**Oh, and by the way, have you guys seen the pictures of Jayma at the Smurfs' premiere? I can't picture 'Emma Pillsbury' with this summer hiatus, so I just go off of regular Jayma pics. So for this whole chapter, I imagined Emma with straight hair and full eyelashes (no coral lipstick, though)**

"Morning, Emma." Emma looked up from the papers on her desk. It was Will standing in her doorway. "Oh, hey, Will." Will smiled warmly at her, but said nothing more. "Uh... Can I do something for you?" she said as her lips curled into a smile. "Yeah, actually. Go to lunch with me." Emma bit her lip and looked down. "Come on, Emma. We used to be best friends. I feel like we're drifting apart."

"We are, Will. I'm married; you know first hand that can strain a friendship... And, you know, you'll be dating someone in no time. You won't have time for me then." Will furrowed his brow. "I'll always have time for you, Emma." A few months ago, Emma would have blushed. Now, she only questioned the intent of his affection. After all, she thought, any tenderness from anyone _had_ to have a motive. Still, it couldn't hurt to go to lunch with him. And she _did_ miss talking to him... and laughing with him... "Emma, what's going on? You seem so... Different."

"I'm pregnant, Will. Everything's different now..." She glanced up at him and immediately wished she could take the comment back. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're right." He paused and looked at his feet as if he were a nervous young boy. "But... I'd still like to take you to lunch." Emma hesitated. "Sure." Will looked up at her answer. "Okay, great." He smiled and stood awkwardly for a moment before walking over to her and kissing her on her forehead. "I'll see you at 12:30," he said cheerily before walking out of her office. Emma watched him leave. She remembered that at one point, his affection to her wasn't unappreciated; even now, she loved the attention he gave her. But it was for selfish reasons. If she couldn't get Carl to show his love for her... Well, she had no problem letting Will.

Will and Emma decided on an organic cafè called Nature's Grill. Though Will would have rather eaten at The Habit or McDonalds, he knew that Emma wasn't too fond of food that she didn't prepare herself, so for her to actually _enjoy_ lunch out was a rarity that he wasn't accustomed to.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, their food finally came. "So, how you feeling, Em?" Emma glanced up at him. "What do you mean?" Will chuckled. "Well, you _are_ pregnant, after all." She smiled politely and nodded. "I feel okay... I guess it could be worse."

"And Carl? Is he excited?" Emma thought about it for a second. "Yeah, he's..." She thought about the incident with the Brunette. "He'll be a great father." She nodded again, confirming to herself what she just said. She had never thought about Carl as more than her husband It hit her at that moment he would be a _father_. _Her child's _father. Would he make a good father? Would he be as physical with him or her like he was with her? "Emma?" Emma snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" Emma cleared her throat nervously. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"You just... You seem a little out of it. Tired, or something..." It was more than that, and he knew it. She was pale, which was unusual for a pregnant woman. Her eyes were dark and lifeless, something he had thought was impossible. Even their movement was off. Her eyelids moved so _slow_... It was as if she were high. Still, he had to trust her. She wasn't stupid, and she knew he was there for her... he hoped.

"I _am_ tired... I guess the pregnancy is wearing on me more than I thought it would. I'll have to start sleeping more." She poked at her salad, feeling Will's stare burning into her. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom," Emma said quietly. She got up and headed towards the restroom. As soon as she was in, she began hyperventilating. She leaned on the granite sink for balance, hoping she wouldn't fall. Just being in the bathroom was nauseating, but she couldn't leave and let Will see her like this.

"Emma?" Emma glanced to her side and saw a blonde woman standing next to her. She couldn't place the face, the tears in her eyes blurred her vision, but she recognized the voice. That soft, delicate voice she thought was gone from her life for good...

"Terri." Terri glanced around to make sure no one was around before locking the restroom door. "What's going on?" Terri asked. "Nothing."

"Almost passing out in a bathroom isn't _nothing_." Terri reached out to Emma, but Emma pushed her hand away. "Don't _touch _me!"

In a flash, Terri turned Emma around and pushed her against the sink, holding her arms so as to make sure she couldn't move. Emma looked at the blonde's small hands on her arms before looking at her face. Terri sighed and moved some hair out of Emma's face. "Calm down." She reached behind Emma and grabbed a paper towel, then wet it in the sink. "I don't need your help," Emma said quietly as Terri pressed it to her head. "I'm sure you don't. Oh, whoa, there!" Terri clutched onto Emma's waist as the redhead began falling. "You should sit down." Emma glanced at the floor. "No, I'm fine."

"What's wrong. Are you diabetic?" Emma scoffed. "You never were a good nurse."

"And you were never a bitch. Or at least, as much as you're being now." Emma looked down. "I'm pregnant." Terri inhaled silently. "Oh." She said nothing more, not wanting to press what she imagined was an uncomfortable topic for Emma, as much as it was for her. She patted Emma's face with the towel a bit more. "Why are you doing this?" Emma asked quietly. Terri clenched her jaw for a moment. "Sometimes it's nice to be taken care of, you know." A few tears slipped down Emma's face, but she remained silent. Terri was right, she knew that... But to rely on others was foreign to her. She didn't _want_ to rely on people. In the end, everyone wants something in return.

Terri held Emma's face in her hands and wiped her tears away with her thumbs. "Stop." She looked Emma up and down, then turned on her heel and headed for the door. "It's not Will's baby." Emma bit her lip as Terri scoffed. "It's _yours_, Emma." She turned and looked at the redhead once more before exiting the bathroom, leaving Emma to ponder what she had just said.

**Finally I finish this chapter! Fillers will be the death of me. ANYWHO, leave me thoughts and comments, concerns, questions, ideas, criticism, etc.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks everyone who's been reading!  
><strong>

**As far as the last chapter goes... I'm not sure what I want ;] I loves me some Terri, but femmeslah isn't something I'm interested in **_at the moment_**. This doesn't rule it out, but right now, I'm more interested in the emotional rollercoaster Emma's on... Romance isn't a main concern for me. Not now. **

_THANKS FOR GOING TO LUNCH WITH ME. IF YOU EVER WANT TO TALK, OR JUST HANG OUT, IM ALWAYS HERE_. Emma looked at the text message from Will for a moment before erasing it from her phone. As much as she appreciated his offers, they were insignificant. He couldn't do anything to help her. No one could

But that isn't true, she thought. Terri had helped. As much as she wanted to deny it, it was true. The few words that were spoken replayed in her head as if on a loop. Emma headed inside of her house and took off her shoes. She heard a shuffling coming from down the hall. _Carl's car wasn't out front... _"Carl? I wanted to talk to you... Carl?" She looked around the living room. Something on the couch caught her eye, but she ignored it and headed to the bedroom. "Carl..." she stopped as soon as she reached the doorway. Putting on her bra was Carla, the Brunette. Emma looked at her crazily. "U-Uh, hi. I..." Emma tilted her head curiously. "What are you doing in my house?" Carla blushed. "I, um... You must be Emma. I'm Carla." She stuck out her hand for Emma to shake, but she did nothing. It didn't matter; both girls heard the front door open. "Emma?" Emma turned around to face Carl. He looked from her to Carla and immediately turned a bright pink. "What..." he cleared his throat. "Emma, can you give us a minute?" Emma scoffed and turned to walk away. "Hey!" Carl grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her to him. "Don't. Do that." He pushed her out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Emma clenched her jaw and headed into the kitchen to make some tea.

As soon as she had finished making a cup of tea, Carl and the Brunette came out of the room. Carla (now covered in one of Carl's shirts, Emma noticed) quickly glanced at Emma before rushing out of the front door. Carl rubbed his forehead and walked over to Emma. "I'm gonna take Carla home. When we get back, we'll talk, okay?" Emma looked at her cup of tea. "Why are you taking her?" she asked quietly. "Her friend dropped her off, or something." Emma nodded. "Okay."

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute." Carl grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and headed out the door.

It had been 2 hours since Carl had left. _Maybe she lives in Salem, _Emma thought to herself. She had never seen the Brunette at the grocery store, or the mall... Anywhere, really. And Carl went to a number of conferences, perhaps she had met him at a bar after one of them. She grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table and scrolled through her contacts until she got to Carl's number. She wanted to call, but she didn't want to be 'that' kind of wife; the wife who needed to know where her spouse was at all times, or who he was with, what he was up to, what time she could expect him... But what if he had been in a car accident? _Or maybe he's with _her, Emma thought. Maybe Carl was fine, or more than fine. Maybe he was _happy_. Something she hadn't seen him in a while. Emma put the phone down and turned on the television. She would trust him. That's all she really could do.

"Pick me up a pack of Bud Light, would you? Oh, and some Macallan, the 25 year." Emma stopped pushing the grocery cart, hesitating before she responded. "Carl, we have that, it's in the liquor cabinet. Besides -"

"Emma, the one we have is halfway empty. Get the Macallan." With that, Carl hung up. Emma rubbed her eyebrow before continuing through the aisle she was in. Once she had grabbed a tub of oatmeal, she headed into the liquor aisle. "Macallan, Macallan..." she scanned the aisle for the white-labeled whiskey.

"You can't drink, not in the condition you're in." Emma turned around quickly and saw Terri standing behind her, her head tilted to the side to see what Emma was looking at. "O-oh, it's not for me, Carl asked me to pick some whiskey up." Terri nodded and looked around the aisle. "Which one?"

"Macallan, 25 year." Terri nodded again and took a few steps down the aisle to pick up a bottle. "Here." She handed Emma the bottle. "Thank you." Emma put the bottle in her cart before turning back to Terri. "And... Thanks for the other day." Terri smiled. "Sure. You know, I wasn't always a bitter bitch. Are you feeling better?" Emma nodded. "Yeah, I just... I was having a rough day, is all."

"Are you sure?" Emma smiled. "Thanks for your concern, Terri. I've got to go." She turned to walk away, but Terri grabbed her arm lightly. "Hey!" Emma turned around to face the small blonde woman. "Look, I know we're not really _friends_ or anything... But I want to see you again. Just to make sure you're okay, you know?"

"Terri, honestly, I'm fine -"

"No, you're not. Something's wrong, you just don't want to tell me. And that's okay, I understand. But please." She handed Emma a business card. Emma fingered it in her hand before looking at Terri. "I work out of my house now, so my address is on there. If you ever need to talk, or you want to clean..." Emma laughed softly. "Alright... Thanks, Terri." Terri smiled and walked away. Emma looked at the card once more before putting it in her pocket. _Why is Terri being so nice?_ She asked herself. The two had never been on good terms, but now... They were _friendly_. Emma pushed Terri out of her mind and headed to the cash register.

"WOO! YES!" Carl jumped up from the couch as the Cincinnati Bengals scored a touchdown. Emma finished putting up the groceries she had gotten. "Emma?" Carl turned to look in the kitchen and saw Emma putting away some vegetables. "Emma, get me a beer, will you?" Emma saw two empty ones on the coffee table, but she knew it was best to comply. She grabbed a beer and walked over to Carl to hand it to him. Instead of grabbing the beer from her, he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. "I missed you," he growled into her ear before kissing her neck. She could smell the alcohol mixed with his saliva. She pulled away and tried to get up, but he pulled her even closer. "The game's almost over, Em," he said into her ear. "I have to take a shower." She got up from his lap and headed to their bedroom. She sighed and went into their adjoined bathroom and started a scalding hot bath. "Shoot," she said, and quickly got up and grabbed a thermometer from medicine cabinet. She returned to the side of the tub and dipped the thermometer in so as to make sure it was under 100ºF. As she held it in the water, she looked down at her stomach. She couldn't help but smile as she imagined a little boy running around the house as Carl chased him, or herself snuggling with her daughter on the couch, watching _The Little Princess_. She took out the thermometer. _87º. Perfect._

Just as Emma had hit a state of complete tranquility, her cell phone rang. She groaned and, without taking the small towel off of her face, reached for the phone on the stool next to her. "Hello?"

"Hey, Em, it's Will."

"Oh, uh... Hi. Can I call you back? I -"

"I'd rather talk to you now. Look, I know things have been a little weird lately, and I just want to say I'm sorry if I've done anything to make you uncomfortable. I just care about you _so_ much, Emma..." Emma sighed. "I know you do. And I care about you, too. You know that." She could imagine Will sitting on his couch right now, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he so often did when he was stressed. "You're my best friend, Emma. I love you." Emma paused for a moment. "I love..."

As soon as she was about to finish her sentence, she felt a hand remove the towel from her eyes. Looking down at her was Carl. She sat up and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Emma?" said Will from the other end of the line. She broke her eye contact with Carl and hung up the phone. Carl took it from her slowly and placed it on the bathroom counter before sitting on the stool next to her. "You were talking to Will?" Carl asked quietly. Emma nodded. The two sat in silence for what seemed like decades. "I'm sorry."

"Is the baby his?" Emma looked up at him again. "What?"

"Is the _fucking_ baby his?"

"No!" Suddenly Carl grabbed Emma's neck and pulled her closer to him. "You know, I knew you'd never stop loving Will. I accepted that. But I never thought you'd cheat on me." Emma looked down at Carl's arm as he tightened his grip. "Carl... I swear, I'd never -"

"I want you to get rid of it." Emma stared up at him in shock. "If it is mine, we can try again." With that, Carl exited the bathroom, leaving the small woman to cry alone.

**Sorry for the wait, I had to write some kind of 'coverage' for how it's going to play out. If I don't, I'll forget, and it'll go somewhere I didn't plan on (see my other fanfic as an example!) Please review, I'd love to hear feedback on how I'm doing.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm soooooooo sorry I've taken so long to update!** **Hopefully the story wasn't forgotten about!**

"Mrs. Pillsbury, are you awake?" Emma lifted her head from its resting place on her hand and looked up. A blurry figure with light coloured hair was standing in her doorway. "Mh... Sorry, Quinn, I'm just a little worn out." She had avoided talking to Carl by sleeping in the guest room the night before, and by leaving the house at 4 AM, and two hours before Carl left for work. "I was wondering if I could talk to you... About Finn." Emma nodded. "Sure. Why don't you sit down?" Quinn closed the glass door and sat in front of Emma's desk. "So, what's going on with you two?"

"He doesn't love me anymore." Emma cleared her throat. "Oh... And what makes you think that?" Quinn scoffed. "He shows me. He barely looks at me unless we're having a conversation. Usually he's with Puck, or Rachel... And, you know, I try to give him space, and I tell him I'm always there for him, I just... I'm willing to do _anything_ to make it work. To make _us_ work." Emma couldn't help but hear herself in Quinn's words. In a way, she knew what Quinn was feeling. "I want _something_ like what you have. I want a successful husband, and I want to have kids one day, just without..."

Emma smiled understandingly. "Just without the OCD issues, right?" Quinn nodded. Emma thought for a moment. "I guess the ones that you love the most can be the worst for you..." Emma looked up and saw that the blonde had tears filling her eyes. "Quinn, you're so young, and beautiful, and talented. All of that will come on its own, you don't need to plan it. And don't think about being the perfect girlfriend. For now, just focus on being _happy_. Even if that means... Not with Finn." She felt like a hypocrite, preaching empty words in which she herself couldn't follow, but she knew it was what she had to say, and most likely the answer Quinn subconsciously knew she needed.

Quinn sniffled and wiped her tears away. "Thanks, Mrs. Pillsbury." She stood and headed towards the door. "You'll be a good mom." Emma smiled at the blonde as she left. She hoped she would be, but she wasn't sure. Everything seemed hard enough without the baby, and she assumed that once it got there, things would be twice as difficult. _Maybe I should go see Dr. Shane,_ Emma thought to herself. _It might be good to talk to someone._ She then remembered her run-in with Terri. She went into her purse and pulled out the business card Terri had given her. Emma quickly dialed the number on her cell phone, but hesitated to press the call button. _Come on, Emma, just call_.

"Hello?" a light voice from the other end said, seconds after Emma had dialed. "H-Hi, Terri. It's Emma." She heard the other woman fumble with some things on the other end. "Hey, Emma! What's up?" Emma rapped her fingers on the desk. "Uh... Are you busy?"

"No... Why?"

"O-Oh, um... I-I was wondering if you'd wanna have lunch with me." Emma bit her lip anxiously and stared at the hand-sanitizer on her desk. "Right now?" Terri asked. "Yeah. If you're busy, it's fine, we can maybe go another time, but..." Terri's soft laugh cut Emma off. "No, now's fine. How about Cam's, on Main? It's this great little dive bar, it's one of my favourites... Oh, wait, never mind."

"What?" Emma asked curiously. "It's just... It's a little dirty, is all." Emma pressed her eyes shut and sighed quietly. "No, it's fine. I'll meet you there in 10?"

"Sure!" Emma couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a slow smile. "Great, I'll see you in a little." Emma hung up and let out a breath of air. It would be nice to see Terri. And it'd be nice to have someone else to talk to _besides_ Will and Carl. _But... What will we talk about?_ Emma thought suddenly. They had only talked twice, once was when Emma was close to fainting, another when she was buying booze for Carl.

And they knew nothing about each other. The two women had only seen each other from a blurred distance, and Will had always been their common factor. It was funny to Emma to think about the time when they _hated_each other. She couldn't blame Terri for her animosity when they first met, she knew the feeling well now... Emma pushed her mixed feeling aside. "It's just lunch, calm down," Emma muttered to herself as she got her purse and keys.

**

Emma knew the dive bar; she had waited inside for Carl once after her car had gotten a flat. She hadn't returned since, and with (for her) good reason; the place was filthy. The dim-light dive had a shady vibe. The wine coloured walls had tacky paintings hung sporadically throughout the place, and the bar and booths had crumbs, grease marks, and the occasional peanut on them.

"Hey, little lady, what can I get you?" Emma glanced to her side and saw a man in dirty jeans and a black Grateful Dead t-shirt standing before her. "Oh, uh... I'm fine, thanks." She smiled politely at him, but the look wasn't returned. "It's awfully strange to come to a bar and not want anything, unless, you didn't come for the service. Which means," he continued, "You came for something else." With that, he smirked. "So, Red. What _did_ you come for?" Emma's jaw slightly fell as she searched her brain for an answer. A response didn't matter to the man. He sat on the edge of the table and eyed her curiously. "Was it, perhaps, to get away from someone? Or maybe, to meet someone?"

"The latter," a voice said from behind the man. "Don't freak her out, Rey." Otto got off the table, revealing Terri standing behind him. She smiled and sat down across from Emma. "I remember Will telling me you don't eat dairy," Terri said. "So how about we split the seafood platter?" Emma bit her lip. "Uh..."

"Oh, you don't eat meat either?" Emma nodded. "How about a veggie burger, Red?" Otto asked. Emma nodded. "S-Sure." Otto smiled a surprisingly gorgeous smile and turned to Terri. "And what about for you?"

"Surprise me," Terri said. Otto grinned again. "Will do, Peggy Sue. I'll be back with your food in a bit. Nice meeting you, Red." Otto winked and walked away, leaving Terri and Emma alone. "Sorry about him, he's just a curious guy, is all. I hope you weren't waiting long."

"No, I got here a bit before you did. Thanks for having lunch with me." Terri smiled warmly. "Yeah, sure... I'm really glad you called, Emma." Emma smiled and licked her lips. "I think Otto was into you! Too bad you're already married." Terri was right, he was attractive. A skinny yet muscular man with a buzzed head, short scruffy beard, and enticing light brown eyes, Otto was indeed very attractive... But he wasn't Emma's type. "So, how's the baby? Is Carl excited?" Terri asked. Carl's demand immediately popped into her head. "Um... I don't think I'm gonna keep it." Terri furrowed her eyebrows. "Why not?" Emma glanced up at the woman, but couldn't bring herself to look into her eyes. "It's Carl, isn't it?" Emma nodded. She could feel herself wanting to cry, but she resisted. "Carl doesn't think it's... He thinks I cheated on him."

"What an asshole." Emma let a soft laugh escape her lips. "He can be, yeah. But he's a good man."

"What do you want, Emma?" Emma thought for a moment before shrugging slightly. "I don't know."

"Sure, you do. But you don't want to say." Emma felt her face get hot. Her eyes fell to the table. "I just want him to love me again." Terri nodded. "I'm sure he never stopped." Emma looked into Terri's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Terri. About... everything." Terri smiled. "Don't be. It's in the past. Right now, it's just you and me. No Will, no animosity, just... Two friends having lunch." As she said that, Otto came back with their food. "Steak platter for Terri, and a veggie burger for Red."

"It's Emma," Terri said. Otto turned to Emma. "Nice to meet you. I'm Otto." The two shook hands. "Anyways, food's on the house. Call me over if you need anything." The women thanked the man before starting on their food.

**

"Thanks again for meeting me for lunch, it was really fun." Terri smiled as the two walked to their cars parked out front. "Sure, anytime." Emma fumbled with her keys for a moment. "Terri? At the restaurant awhile back, in the restroom... You said the baby was mine... What did you mean by that?" Terri licked her lips and looked into Emma's eyes. "A child's bond with it's mother doesn't compare to anything in this world. And I know we haven't been very close, but I know giving up your child is the last thing you want to do. So don't." A tear slipped down Emma's face. Terri pulled the redhead into a tight hug. After a few moments, the two released each other. "Thanks, Terri." Terri nodded and wiped a tear from Emma's face. "Sure. Call me soon, and we'll hang out again." Emma nodded, and the two said their goodbyes before going their separate ways.

**

**I always get ideas for other fanfics while im WRITING one, and I seriously need to focus. But what do you guys think about a horror-ISH kind of fanfic after this one is done? It's not really a genre written a lot, if at all for Glee, and I think it would be fun and challenging to do!**

**I was planning on making this one part of a type of written triptych, with a separate fanfic about abuse as a child, and another about a taboo affair with... Well, I don't want to give it away, but let's just say most would consider it inappropriate, and it's NOT with Will, or a student. It won't be anytime soon, as I'd like to finish this one, as well as the last couple of chapters of my first one, but I just thought I'd let you know.**


	9. Chapter 9

**If someone knows how to make breaks in the page and wants to tell me, it'd be greatly appreciated! I can't seem to go past more than one space between paragraphs. **

**DISCLAIMER: this scene gets a bit... uh, I guess one could say graphic/brutal sexually as well as physically, so tread lightly.**

-lll-

Emma had been calm after lunch with Terri up until the drive home. From McKinley to her house, she had been anticipating her first run-in with Carl since he demanded an abortion. It wasn't helping that he was late coming home; he was usually home around 5:30. It was now 6:22.

At 6:38, a text message came in. _BE READY TO GO TO DINNER. ILL BE HOME IN 15. _Emma bit the inside of her cheek and went into her closet to find something to wear. She noticed as she undressed to her underthings that she was barely showing. Emma touched her stomach lightly and thought about what Terri had asked. What did Emma want? She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes before doing what she had only done once with Carl and his father: she prayed.

_God,_ she said in her head. _Please... Tell me what to do._ Emma sat on the edge of the bed. She wanted a child, _this_ child, but... Carl meant a lot to her. He could be cruel, but then again, everyone was.

Suddenly Emma felt a thump in her abdomen. The baby had kicked. Emma exhaled and touched her stomach again. Again, the baby moved inside of her.

"Emma!" Carl called out. The sound of the front door slamming followed after his voice. "Emma, you ready?" Emma quickly got up and went to her closet just as Carl entered the room. "You're not dressed yet?"

"N-No, I was just looking for something to wear." Carl met her at her closet and shoved clothes on their hangers around. "Here." Carl pulled out a deep virescent dress that, like most things Carl picked out, Emma found to be too tight and short for her. "Oh, uh..." Emma blushed as she tried to figure out an excuse for not wearing it. "Emma, this isn't a cheap dress. It's Antonio Berardi. Hurry, please. I'm starving." Emma nodded and waited for Carl to leave. Ignoring her hinting awkward stance, he stood in front of her, staring at her body. Emma shifted uncomfortably and glanced up at him before turning to head to the bathroom. "Wait." Carl grabbed her arm and looked her body over once more before moving his hand from her arm to her waist. She held her breath as his thumb began making light circles on her skin. "I should go change," Emma mumbled before pulling herself away and locking herself in the bathroom.

-lll-

It was obvious the two had nothing in particular to say to each other. Carl sipped on a glass of red wine, watching Emma carefully as she pushed her food around on the plate. "So, how has work been?" Carl asked lazily. For some reason unknown to Emma, she was nervous talking to him. "Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"And Will? Has he spoken to you?" Emma shook her head. "Really? Hm. I find that hard to believe." Emma clenched her jaw shut as Carl downed the last of his wine. "It really _does_ bother me, Emma, your guys' relationship."

"There _is_ no _relationship_, Carl. Please, you _have_ to believe me." Carl chuckled and scooted closer to her. "No, I don't. But maybe I will later. For now, however, I'd like to enjoy dinner."

-lll-

Finally, after (to Emma) what seemed like decades, they were home. Emma went straight into the bedroom and took off her heels and jewelry as Carl went into the kitchen for a glass of wine. "Emma... when..." His voice trailed off. Emma sighed and tried to unzip her dress. Suddenly Emma felt an arm slither around her waist. Carl kissed her shoulder and held her close to him as his other hand slowly unzipped her dress. "When's your doctor appointment?" he asked in a low voice, before dropping her dress to the ground. Emma shuddered and stared at the ground. "I... I didn't make an appointment."

Carl stepped back and turned her around quickly, confused. "What? Why not?"

"I can't... I want this baby." She looked up at him, hoping he wouldn't be too upset, but she knew immediately that the night had made a change for the worse. "So you're choosing it over me. Your _husband_." Emma began to get hot. "I'm sorry, I just... _can't_..." A few tears slipped down her face as she looked up at him sadly. As much as she hated hurting him, there wasn't a choice between him and her child. And though it was never said, they both knew it.

Suddenly, Carl grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her inches away from his face. "Ah, please stop -"

"Do you see what you do to me, Emma? Huh?" Carl shouted before shoving her onto the bed. Emma buried her face into the bed, shivering in fear and anticipation as Carl paced around the room. "You ungrateful _bitch_. After all of the shit I've done for you."

_Calm down, Emma, calm_ down... She pulled her legs closer to her as Carl got closer, and repeated herself in her head over and over as Carl spoke. "I mean, I buy you nice things, take you to expensive restaurants, treat you like a _queen_, and what do you do?" Carl straddled Emma and spit in her hair. "You _spit in my fucking face!_" Carl leaned in close to her face. "You wanna say something?" he growled, touching her thigh. His voice and touch sent chills down her spine. _Just say what you have to, don't make him mad anymore, _Emma said over and over in her mind. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Suddenly, Emma's phone went off on the edge of the bed. Carl quickly grabbed it and looked at the caller ID before laughing. "Wow, this son of a bitch does _not_ give up." Emma sat up and looked at the phone. "Were you supposed to see him?" Emma shook her head nervously. _Do what he wants, Emma, lie, agree with him, lie some more, don't make him mad. _"Bullshit," he said as he threw the phone at the wall.

Emma glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 11:46. "What, Emma?" Carl viciously grabbed her chin with his thumb and index finger, and forced her to look at him. "You want it to be over?" He smirked lasciviously and kissed her before pressing his sweaty forehead to hers. "You've got miles to go before you sleep." Carl ran his hands up Emma's legs and pulled them apart before pulling her close so that he was between them. "What are you... Carl, stop." _He's just trying to scare you... _Carl moved his hands slowly down Emma's thighs to her underwear, breathing heavily as he did so. Emma pushed his hands away. "Stop!"

Carl quickly grabbed her hair again and pulled so that she was on her back again. "Ah, Carl, stop it, please!" Carl pulled her hair harder, making her body curl up towards the ceiling, and ran his free hand up her torso, from her hips to her waist and finally to her chest. "Carl, let me go!" She pushed at his chest, but her small frame was no match for his. Carl removed his hand from her hair and grabbed both her wrists in his large palm. He pinned them over her head and began kissing her neck. "Do you wish it was Will, Em?" Carl said softly in her ear. Her body shivered with each hot word (words filled with nothing more than alcohol, anger, and lust) uttered from his mouth. His second hand moved from her chest to her underwear again, and began toying with the edge of them. Emma watched his hand move, then looked up at his face. He stared at her, his eyes dark, _so _dark, and face expressionless. It was at that moment Emma realized that

Carl was in fact _not_ joking, nor trying to scare her, and that she was all alone.

Carl began to undo the button on his pants, his dead ebony gaze changing frighteningly slow from on her face to her chest. "Don't Carl, please, please, don't do this," Emma pleaded. Carl looked her dead in the eyes for what seemed like an eternity before slowly, _slowly_ smirking an evil lopsided smirk Emma had only seen in her nightmares.

_Please don't please don't please please __**please**__ don't please don't DON'T..._

Hot, desperate tears filled her eyes as she felt Carl move her underwear and press himself against her. She could feel him, hard between her shivering legs. The tears that she had been trying to hold in escaped her eyes. "Carl -" Hastily, he pushed into her, burying his stubbly, whiskery face in her neck as he did so. Emma gasped as her legs and back tensed up, and sharp jolt went through her inner thighs. "Do you wish Will was the one in you instead of me? _Fucking you _instead of me?" He thrust into her with as much force as he could, making her moan in agony. She realized he was _trying_ to hurt her. Emma tried to free both of her hands from his one, but to no avail. Carl grabbed her thigh and squeezed it roughly before thrusting into her again, this time much harder. Hot tears ran down her face, to her neck, her ears, and lips as she began to sob. "Shut up, Emma," Carl spat. "_HEL-" _Emma began to scream, but Carl released her hands and punched her in the cheek, making Emma cry harder. "_Shut the _fuck _up_!" he hissed.

Carl grabbed her leg again and pushed harder into her. He kept this up, each time challenging himself to go deeper, harder, rougher. _That bitch, _he thought. How could she treat him like shit? He did love her. But she had to learn. This was _her_ fault. She had been asking for it, and she _deserved_ to be treated this way. She just pissed him off so _damn_ much... And he had to remind her who was in charge. _And_ _I'm not _really_ hurting her_, he thought. _We've done this before... _

Carl studied her as he continued. Emma was shaking, and her thin frame was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She was breathing hard as well, harder than he had ever seen her. And then there was her face. Her beautiful face... It was covered in tears and mascara. He furrowed his brow as he noticed she was biting her lip and looking off to their side instead of at him. He kissed her roughly before returning his head to the crook of her neck. "You're not having fun? Huh?" he scoffed. "I'll _make_ you have fun."

His ever-changing hand position was now in-between her legs and his fingers began to touch her most sensitive area. Emma moaned and gasped for air again, but this time no oxygen hit her lungs. She began to hyperventilate. "Carl... I, I can't breathe," she said shakily. Carl simply ignored her and continued to play with her. "Come on, baby, come for me," he whispered into her neck. Emma's eyes rolled back slightly as she began to get dizzy. _Stay up, don't pass out, stay _up. Emma looked at the clock again. 11:57. _It's almost over..._

And then it was. Carl's body shook on top of hers as he came. "Shit, Emma..." he sighed and kissed her collarbone before getting up and buttoning his pants. Emma sat up and tried to catch her breath. The last of her tears fell down her face as she hiccupped and wiped her thighs off. "Oh, stop with that shit. You act like you're still a virgin." Emma glanced at him and mumbled something inaudible under her breath. "What was that?" Carl said as he grabbed a bottle of Scotch and a glass from the mini bar in the corner. Emma ignored him and touched her leg where an impressive bruise was forming. Carl scoffed at her silence. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking..." he took a sip of his drink before continuing. "You're thinking, 'Will could never fuck me like that." Emma's face got hot as Carl began to chuckle.

"Your father would have been disgusted."

Carl's laugh abruptly stopped. He gently placed his glass down and turned to Emma. "What was that?" Emma under eyed him nervously, but stayed quiet. Carl stared at her, his eyes boring holes into her own, as he slowly walked towards her. Emma quickly stood up, making her immediately feel dizzy. She placed a hand on the wall and began to unsteadily walk to the door, but Carl blocked her. "Say it again." Carl leaned in close to her face so that the two were about three inches apart and grabbed her arm. Emma clenched her jaw shut and furrowed her brow nervously as Carl began to squeeze her arm. "Say it." _Don't say it, say something else._ As much as she wanted to, Emma couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"_Say it_!" Carl shouted angrily. He grabbed both her arms and slammed her into the wall. Suddenly, Carl punched her in the ribs. Emma gasped and fell over into Carl's arms. Carl pushed her back into the wall and punched her once more in the torso before slapping her and punching her in the jaw. Emma fell to the ground and clutched her stomach in pain. "Carl, stop!" Emma screamed. Carl straddled her legs and gripped her neck with both hands. "You don't say _shit_ about my father. You hear me?" Emma pulled at his hands as they tightened around her neck, but to no avail. She closed her eyes and gasped for air.

Carl finally let go and watched her body writhe under him as she took in as much oxygen as she could. She whimpered in pain and pushed at her hipbones with the base of her hands. Her body hurt _so much, _much more than anything she'd ever felt. Carl grabbed her jaw with his hand and turned her face to the side. "Ooh, Emma," he said as he admired the now light reddish-purple bruise on her cheek. "Have you learned anything tonight?" Emma wiped her nose with her middle finger and saw blood. She looked up at Carl angrily. "You're a _fucking_ pig."

There was a flash in Carl's eyes when he suddenly punched her again in the face. Emma shrieked in pain and covered her face. "Are you testing me? Huh?" he shouted angrily. He threw another punch at her torso, this time hitting her square in the abdomen. A wheezy breath left Emma's throat as she clutched her stomach. Satisfied, Carl got off of her and walked to his glass of Scotch. Emma tried to get up, but her body failed her. Still, she had to get out. Emma got onto all fours and slowly headed towards the door.

Just then, her phone beeped. Carl glanced around before spotting the phone about a foot away. He snatched the phone up, then pressed a few buttons before finding what he had wanted. He pressed one more button and held the phone out they could both hear.

"Emma, it's Will. Uh... I wanted to talk to you. About what I said... I just wanted to tell you I meant it. I love you. Call me back." Carl closed his eyes as the voicemail ended. He then walked briskly to Emma. "Liar!" he shouted angrily, before kicking her in the stomach. Emma cried out in anguish and crumpled on the ground. In one swift movement, Carl turned her onto her back and straddled her. "You lied to me." Emma coughed and wheezed, fighting for air. "C-Carl... I -"

Carl socked her face again. Blood began to gush from her nose as he struck her again and again. Emma tried to scream, but only the sound of her choking on air or an occasional whimper escaped her lips. "You _bitch_," Carl shouted. Eyes closed, he hit her again and again, over and over.

_Carl... _

Carl opened his eyes again and saw blood everywhere. His eyes widened as he looked at the blood on his hands, puddled on the carpet, and covering a lifeless Emma. "Emma?" Carl nudged her lightly, but she did nothing. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her off the ground. "Emma!" He shook her violently, but she did nothing. Tears started to fall down Carl's face. "Fuck! Fuck you, Emma!" He slammed her onto the ground and shook her some more. "Emma! _Emma!_" Nothing. Carl leaned over and buried his head in her shoulder. "Emma!" He sobbed. "Fuck... You fucking _bitch_... Please don't go, please..."

**JUST A SIDENOTE: I'm not some Jesus freak, okay? But I do think it's interesting, the relationships people try to have with religious deities. Secondly! In case you know your designers, Antonio Berardi doesn't have a short dark green dress that I know of, sorry :] And, of course, I just **_**had**_** to steal a line from one of my favourite movies (can you find it?) which was taken from Robert Frost. Anyway, thanks for reading. Hopefully it got some sort of emotion out of you...**


	10. Chapter 10

_No, I found her like this. She... She was covered in blood... There was so much blood, it was everywhere..._

"Mh... Carl?" Emma tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like they were 100lbs each. Slowly, she opened them and tried to look around, but her blurry vision and throbbing pain in her head made it almost impossible. She closed her eyes again. _Get up, get up,_ she thought. _You _have _to get up._ Against her body's wishes, she pushed herself off of the bed and sat up. A shooting pain went through her side, but she ignored it. "Mm..." Emma rubbed her head and kept her eyes closed for a moment before tiredly opening them. She blinked slowly and squinted as she looked around the dim blue-tinted room. She was at the hospital. Emma's heart began racing as she tried to remember the night before.

"_You _have_ to believe me."_

"_I... I want this baby."_

"_You want it to be over? You've got miles to go before you sleep."_

"_Your father would have been disgusted."_

"_You fucking bitch... Emma? Emma! ... Please don't go, please..."_

Tears slid down Emma's face. With shaky hands, Emma pushed the thin cover off of her, revealing tiny and pale bruise-covered legs. She noticed she wasn't in a hospital gown, but rather, a pair of white boxer-type shorts and a plain white t-shirt. Her body ached _so_ much, but there was something else. She pulled up her shirt. Her flat stomach was covered in large red, blue, green and purple bruises. Her lower lip quivered as her hand moved to lie on her stomach. She pressed her eyes shut, hoping for something, _anything_.

But it was too late. Her child was dead.

Emma screamed at the top of her lungs and began sobbing uncontrollably. Out of nowhere, two nurses appeared. "Mrs. Howell, are you okay?" asked the older of the two as the second checked the monitor near Emma's bed. Emma keeled over and continued to cry. Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her. The nurse sat on the bed next to Emma and pulled her into a warm hug. She clutched onto the nurse and continued to sob into her shoulder. A sharp, excruciating pain hit her sides again. After a few minutes, Emma pulled away and looked at the nurse tearfully. "How long have I been here?" Emma hiccupped. "Today's your third day. You have two broken ribs and a sprained wrist." The nurse looked down. "I'm so sorry about your baby -"

"- Is my husband here?" the nurse looked up again and nodded before standing up. "He's talking to is lawyer, I think." The second nurse took a file and wrote a few things before exiting. "I'm not sure. But the detective on your case wants a word with you. Should I send him in?" Emma gulped and nodded. The nurse smiled sadly and left.

Emma looked around and saw a stainless steel tin pan next to her bed. She grabbed it and examined her face in its reflection. "Oh, God," Emma whispered. She was a mess. There was a cut on her eyebrow as well as her upper lip and jaw line. She also had a black eye as well (luckily it wasn't swollen, but very discoloured), a bruised nose, and numerous bruises on her neck from Carl's hands, but the most noticeable thing on her face was the large bruise the size of her palm on her cheek. If there was any emotion left in her, she knew she'd blush in embarrassment. Emma couldn't hide these bruises, they were too big and dark. Everyone would know.

"Mrs. Emma Pillsbury-Howell?" a voice said. Emma returned the tin to its place and turned to where the voice was coming from. Standing in front of her bed was a tall man in a black pea coat. "I'm Detective Flynn, I'm in charge of your case. First, let me say how truly sorry I am for everything that's happened to you." Emma hastily wiped away a tear. "Thank you."

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna have to ask you a few questions about the night you were assaulted." As he said that, a figure appeared in the hallway. It was Carl. Emma glanced at him. "Uh... Yeah, okay."

"Great. Now, Emma, do you mind if I call you Emma?" Emma nodded and looked at Carl again. He was looking at her gloomily, guilty in a way. Carl smiled sadly and waved shyly before looking down. "Emma, would you mind telling me what happened?" Emma swallowed. Thinking about it alone made Emma want to burst into tears. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Tell me what you were doing an hour before the incident, and continue from there." Emma glanced at Carl again. He mouthed something to her and glanced away before walking down the hallway. Emma looked down into her lap and watched him over and over again in her head. He had mouthed "I love you". And he did, there was no doubt in her mind about it. If Emma could, even after all that he had done to her, all that he had taken from her, she'd still feel something for him, too.

But she couldn't feel anything. Not anymore.

"I, um... I was home, by myself. I think Carl was still at his office. I was watching TV, and then I headed to my room and started changing for bed..." The lies flowed out of her mouth before she could even comprehend what she was doing. _Why are you covering for Carl_? She asked herself. "I changed out of the dress I had been in, and then..." She licked her lips and closed her eyes for a moment. "There was a man in my room."

"What did he look like?" _Like Carl. _"I don't know." Emma's voice was shaky. "He threw me on the bed and..."

"Did he rape you, Emma?" Emma hesitated. _Yeah_. "No. He just... He looked around for stuff." _Stop lying,_ she told herself. _He deserves to be in jail._

"To steal?"

"I guess. But he couldn't find anything he wanted. He didn't take anything. Not that I saw, anyway. He came back and asked me where everything was. I told him we didn't have anything he'd want. He got really mad... He pulled me off the bed and slammed me into the wall." Emma mentally fast-forwarded to later in the night. She blinked back tears before continuing. "And then he started hitting me. In the stomach, in my face..." She was about to say more, but her voice caught in her throat as she visualized Carl choking her once she fell to the ground. "Um... I fell to the floor, and he choked me, and hit me more." Tears began to stream down her face slowly. "I don't remember what else happened." Detective Flynn nodded compassionately and sighed. "He's gonna get what's coming to him, I promise you that. Is there anything else that might help us catch this guy?" Emma licked her lower lip. She knew she could end everything now and simply turn in Carl, but something stopped her. With sad eyes, she turned to the Detective and shook her head. He sighed and nodded. "Okay. I've brought a rape kit, so in a little the doctors -"

"N-No, I don't want a rape kit." The detective furrowed his brow. "Emma, you _do_ realize you passed out after he attacked you, right? That means he could've taken advantage of you _way_ before your husband even found you."

"I know what could've happened. But I don't want one." The detective stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Alright. No kit. Here." He stood up and handed her a card. "Call me if there's anything else you wanna say." Just then, the nurse from before came in. The detective smiled sadly at Emma before exiting. "Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell? Your husband wanted to see you, if that's alright with you." Emma felt her body tense up. She licked her lips and nodded. "Sure." The nurse left Emma alone again. She fingered the card in her hand, thinking of all the lies she told the detective, and how easy it was to say him. Emma would have loved to have told him the truth, but how could she? What would she say when he asked what triggered the incident? Explaining her confusing relationship with Will would only make her out to be a cheater and Carl a distressed husband. And what if she _did_ tell the truth? What would come after? If they went to court, she would have nothing except for her physical appearance. Carl was the one with the money, he could afford the best of lawyers, while she would have to settle for a B-grade attorney. And no one could testify on her behalf, because no one knew anything.

"Em?" Emma looked up and swallowed. Carl was standing before her, looking a complete mess. His normally perfect hair was unkempt, and it looked as though he hadn't shaved since the ordeal. He looked around anxiously before standing at the foot of the bed. "Hey... How you feeling?" he glanced at her stomach before looking down at the ground. She wanted to cry and hit him and scream, but she couldn't do anything except stare at him.

He didn't expect a response. He rapped his fingers on his leg before looking up at her. For the first time, he saw that the woman he married, the one that always had a glow about her, the one that could melt his heart with a simple smile, was gone. In her place was a pale, spare and weak woman with dark lifeless eyes. He hastily wiped away a few tears that had found their way from his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Emma, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." Emma nodded. "Yes, you did."

"I thought you were gone for good..." Tears fell from Carl's face onto the sheets. Suddenly, he turned and hugged her torso and began sobbing. Emma watched as he cried and slowly rubbed his back. "What did you tell them?" Emma asked quietly. Carl sniffled and sat up. "What do you mean?"

"When they asked what happened." Carl wiped his eyes and rubbed his eyebrow. "They asked me what I saw... I told them I was out having a drink at a bar, and when I came home... I found you in our room, and... You were unconscious. Covered in blood..." Carl cleared his throat. "I, uh, I brought you some different clothes, I figured wearing a thin hospital gown would be uncomfortable for you." Emma glanced down at her attire.

"Mr. and Mrs. Howell?" The two looked at where the voice was coming from. "I'm Dr. Shaw. How you feeling?" Emma coughed. "My sides hurt." Dr. Shaw nodded and wrote something down in his file. "That's because of your ribs. Unfortunately we can't do anything except bandage your torso. Anything else? Any headaches, nausea, dizziness, cold sweat, etcetera?" Emma shook her head no. "Okay. Well, everything on your chart looks okay, so after we bandage you up, you're free to go. Just a few things; don't do any lifting unless it's a pencil until your next check up. No grocery shopping without someone helping you, no doing the laundry, and so on. Also, no sex. Any pressure on your ribs will not only be excruciatingly painful, but it could push around the ribs and cause them to set wrong." Emma nodded and glanced at Carl, who nodded as well. "Great. I'm gonna prescribe you Percocet for the pain. I'll send the nurse in to come bandage you up and bring you your prescription." The doctor left, leaving Carl and Emma in a cold silence. "So... What now?" Carl mumbled. Emma swallowed and turned to her husband.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you."

-III-

**I'd reaaallyy appreciate any pointers/comments! Thanks :]**


	11. Chapter 11

**Filler No. 2, guys. Not the most interesting of chapters, but bear with me.**

Emma looked horrible, and she knew it. The bruises on her face and body had faded since she had left the hospital two weeks ago, but the cut on her eyebrow and jaw were still visible, and would most likely scar. She was pale as well, and had lost a significant amount of weight. She knew everyone at work had noticed, but no one would ask. Students weren't so shy, however. Many asked her if she had been in a fight with Sue or Coach Beiste (apparently that seemed most likely to the kids).

Carl had been amazing. There were no more late nights out, and the drinking had decreased to a glass of wine a night. Grocery shopping, cooking, and household chores were now his responsibility; if he saw Emma even attempt to clean, he'd insist on her resting before starting the task she had tried to do. Their marriage, however, wasn't so great. Carl had moved into the guest bedroom so as to give Emma space. Even with him not there, she found it hard to sleep. She found herself up in the early hours of the morning, replaying that night in her head, thinking of the life that was lost, and how her own was forever changed.

Her first day back was almost over. Soon, Carl would be there to pick her up and take her home. She closed one of the kid's files on her desk and grabbed the pill bottle from her desk drawer. She took two pills out and swallowed them. "Emma?" Emma looked at the door and saw Will. She grabbed her bottle of water and took a swig before responding. "Hey, Will."

"How've you been? You look..." He cleared his throat, hoping not to insult her. Emma smiled softly. "I... was in a car accident."

"Oh, my God, what happened?" Will asked worriedly, his eyes wide. Emma bit the inside of her cheek. No one had asked her for details. "Uh... I was actually driving with Carl to visit some family in Pittsburg, and another car T-boned us. Hence the messed-up face and uh, pain medication," she added, rattling the pill bottle. "And... the baby?" Emma clenched her jaw shut. She had tried not thinking about the baby. Not having any baby things in the house had made things a bit easier, but it was still hard. Will immediately knew once she looked down at her desk. "Oh, Emma..." Emma shook her head, dismissing his sympathy. "I'm fine, really, Will." Will nodded. "I'm so sorry." Emma nodded. "Thanks."

"Maybe you should go to a grief counse-"

Just then, Emma's phone went off. "New phone?" Will asked curiously. "Yeah... My other one is broken," she answered inattentively as she checked her phone. _I'M OUTSIDE_, read the text message on her new iPhone. "I've gotta go, Carl's waiting outside." Emma stood and winced right after. "You okay?" Will asked cautiously. "Yeah, I'm okay." The two stood up and exited her office. "Emma?" Emma glanced up before checking to make sure her office door was locked. "Yeah?" Will stuffed his hands in his pocket and shifted his weight. "Uh... How are you and Carl?"

"I don't love him anymore." She stood straight and looked at him lazily. Will blushed. "Oh, s-so, you're getting a divorce." Emma shook her head. "No."

"Wha- _why_? You just said -"

"I've gotta go, Will." With that, she smiled and walked down the hall. She felt bad; Will had only wanted to help her. Emma stopped and clutched her side. "Shoot..." The pain medication wasn't kicking in like it used to. She continued walking and dug through her purse for her pills, and took another two before pushing open the front doors of the school and getting in Carl's car.

-III-

Carl was beginning to get worried. He had thought Emma would be better, happier even, once time had passed. He knew two weeks wasn't a lot of time, but he could tell that something about her had changed permanently. Even watching her now, curled up on the couch, reading that book she had been reading for what seemed like forever (and highlighting countless passages), he could tell that, as content as she seemed, something was wrong.

With a sigh, he walked over and sat next to her on the couch. "Emma?" She glanced up from her book momentarily before returning to it. "Yeah?"

"Uh... Are you okay? Like... emotionally." She didn't respond, so Carl continued. "I just, I worry about you sometimes. You never smile anymore."

"I don't have a reason to." Carl nodded. "I think you should see a therapist."

Emma looked up slowly. "Why? So they can tell me all about the countless problems I have? I'm not going." Carl peered at her, making Emma shift in her seat. "What...?"

"Your eyes are glossy." Emma closed her eyes for a moment before looking at Carl again. "I'm tired." Carl sighed lightly and nodded. "Fine. But... Just think about it, okay?" Emma nodded. Carl, satisfied, stood up and left. He was a bit blurry, Emma noticed. She ignored it and turned back to her book, but sighed and closed it; she couldn't concentrate.

-III-

"_She's a good hearted woman, in love with a good-hearted man..._" Emma sang softly as she walked down the empty halls of the school. Suddenly her phone buzzed. She stopped and looked at it before sighing. _SORRY, ILL BE ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATE, _the text message from Carl read. She rubbed her eyebrow in frustration. And then she remembered; Will might still be around. He had been staying late to help some of the Glee club members learn the dance routines. She walked to the choir room and slowly opened the door. Practicing dance moves on the floor was Will, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. She watched him as he finished. "That was amazing," she said softly, her head tilting to the side. Will turned around quickly and blushed. "Emma! I didn't see you. Hi." Emma smiled and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Carl's gonna be late, and I remembered you... You practice in here, so..."

"Are you okay, Emma?" She blinked slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Will looked her over. Her eyes were once again glossy and dilated. "You just look... I don't know."

Suddenly, Emma leaned forward and kissed him. Will's lips lingered on hers before he hastily pulled away. "Emma, what are you doing?" Emma exhaled and under eyed him. "Did you mean what you said?" she asked softly. "One the phone." Will licked his lips and looked down nervously. "Yeah. I did."

"Why?" The question confused Will. "Is everything okay, Emma? You're starting to scare me."

"_Why_ do you love me, Will?" she demanded. Will took a step closer, but Emma pushed him away before turning on her heel and walking out, leaving Will even more confused than before.


End file.
